Riverside Theatre Parramatta
22-23 March 2013
Starring Jesse Rasmussen, Kuki Tipoki, Thomas J Egan, Dion Bilios and Rohan Browne
Directed by Nigel Turner-Carroll
Reviewed by Lana Hilton
Is rat-ta-tap-tastic a word? Well it should be.
Five quadruple threat Australian actors (that’s dancing, singing, acting and being good looking) unite the swinging sixties with modern songs and dancing against a live brass band.
Inspired by the 1960s Rat Pack the creators and choreographers have designed a piece that has exquisite charm and songs that have everybody grooving in their seats with a great big smile plastered across their faces.
While the storyline is a little lacking the audience loved being involved in every scene. The characters openly spoke to us, threw (sometimes dirty) jokes and waited for a response, engaged us in a clapping frenzy and fed off our laughs and cheers when they exited from a perfect, solo or group tap performance.
The actors were clearly having the time of their lives and it was refreshing to see people who were thoroughly enjoying themselves and so dedicated to their art. Saying the men were excellent tap dancers is an understatement - each one has a CV a mile long and collectively they have performed in over 20 musical productions and countless in stage, television and film!
In their suave suits complete with pocket squares and a cheeky grin, the actors had great chemistry and were mesmerising in every performance. They turned modern pop music into jazz spectaculars, especially Cee Lo Green’s “Forget You”. It was amazing how despite their legs kicking and tapping furiously to every drum and trumpet beat they never seemed out of breath – how did they do it!
While the production brought to you by FORM Dance Projects only has four performances, keep your eye out for any production that mentions these actors as it is sure to be an entertaining winner!
