The Tap Pack comprises four singing, dancing, joking yankee-doodle-dandees and one true-blue Aussie just looking to join their gang.
Well, not quite. They’re all veterans of the Australian entertainment industry, but The Tap Pack would have audiences believe they’re bonafide New York gents straight from the era of Fred Astaire.
This fabulous show, inspired by the original Rat Pak – Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jnr – features songs such as “The Lady is a Tramp” and “Me and My Shadow”, along with modern classics by the likes of Oasis, CeeLo Green and Beyonce.
While the start was somewhat slow (with “Blue” pretending to be a busker looking to join the besuited foursome), once the show got underway, it presented more than an hour of non-stop energy.
The comedic stylings were deliberately cheesy, but that suited the classic jazz-era atmosphere. “Barabara” the bar helped create a dark speak-easy on-stage watering hole, and the six-piece Tap Pack Bandits band was phenomenal.
The Tap Pack demonstrated their percussion skills with not only their tapping feet, but any inanimate object on the stage. Pool cues, castanets, bottles of booze and even a ladder were fodder for their drumming hands. And the beat never stopped.
Along with some great singing voices, there were impressions of famous entertainers of the past including Sammy Davis Junior, Fred Astaire, and the penguin from Happy Feet. They even had their own “Ginger”, who did a solo in heels and backwards.
The Tap Pack dance together in perfect, clicking unison, as well as showing off their individual styles. The songs were perfectly selected, and mash-ups of Harry Connick Junior, Michael Buble and Bruno Mars were inspired.
A show that anyone, not just tap and jazz fans, would enjoy
The Tap Pack’s Adelaide Cabaret Festival season has now finished.
More Adelaide Cabaret Festival stories and reviews here.
