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Culture Theatre

Fringe review: The Laundry List

THE LAUNDRY LIST by Trina Josdal & Amy Lintunen (Vintage Taps/Fringe). At the Factory Mainspace. July 8 at 3:30 pm, July 9 at 3:45 pm, July 11 at 10:30 pm, July 12 at 7:30 pm July 14 at 5:45 pm. See listing. Rating: NNNN


The wacky musical has long had a happy home at the Fringe. Set in the Prohibition era with a fluffy narrative about bootleggers and criminal empire-building, this tap happy production certainly fits that description. But authentic tap choreography, including riffs on historical repertoire by Leonard Reed and Willie Bryant, gives it an edge on the competition.

Tap has a seductive audio component, and the percussive rhythms here are impressive, especially in the group numbers of old standards like Ballin’ the Jack and Charleston.

The cast’s level of tap technique is consistently high, with choreographers Trina Josdal and Amy Lintunen also contributing shim shams, shimmies and double wings as main characters Birdie and Ruby.

All too brief cameos by house dancer Raoul Wilkes parsing Gene Kelly’s Singin’ In The Rain and singer Andrea Pang gently crooning Sugar, That Sugar Baby O’ Mine are also memorable.

Wrapped in feathers and sequins with shots of old-fashioned wordplay, The Laundry List is an exercise in retro sweetness and syncopated positivity – a thoroughly enjoyable show.

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