Tap is Back: These boys will have you trading your beers for martinis

There are usually a few standard trades that a young man should learn, so that he can stand among the rest and proudly hold his head high above the varnished wooden bar that he just placed his ice cold beer on.

I was always told early on that changing a tyre was a skill that must be conquered before heading out into the world. Add basic woodwork skills, changing a car battery, kicking a football, knowing the precise location of the fuse box and of course understanding how and when to throw a gentlemanly punch were all among the bag of tricks any young buck should master before becoming a man.

Now I know this may sound strange, but dancing, oddly enough was never on that list as a young boy growing up in the land down-under. There was a time however, when you would have been considered a fool or, excuse the foul language … a ‘square’ if you didn’t possess the basic skills and rhythm needed to take a girl out onto the dance floor. In fact, long, long ago dancing would have been right up there with beer-skulling and whacking the s**t out of golf balls into a paddock in the realms of masculinity.

[pull_left]It is rare in this industry that our ideas that we write down on napkins at the bar at 2 am actually come to fruition and blossom. So when there are those who actually set out and do it, it is vital that we support them[/pull_left]

Somewhere in Sydney right now there are 5 young men sweating it out to the classics and working on a project that will more than prove the latter. 5 of Australia’s finest young performers have recently started rehearsals on a new project that has been in the works for over a year. Inspired by the class, charm and timeless entertainment of ‘The Rat Pack’ and then infusing this with their unchallenged respect for the greats like Gene Kelly & Fred Astaire, these young bucks are creating a brand new show appropriately titled The Tap Pack.

Now there may be some readers out there saying “it’s been done” or “seen it before”. To those people I respectfully say ‘shush! no more talking for you’.

Yes, there are some things in life that should not be messed with, and the classic style and class of this era is definitely one of them. However what this talented group is now doing is taking their love and respect of the classics and combining it with a new energy.

After seeing a quick preview of the work, I can safely say this group not only pays respect to the timeless era of Franky & Sammy, but combines it with a refreshing and appropriate dose of humour, spunk and youth.

Jordan Pollard (co-creator) told me “We believe the Australian market needs an injection of class and charm and we have a fantastic team to do it.” … and quite frankly, I couldn’t agree more.

When asking Jordan ‘why?’ he replied; “The idea essentially stemmed from the Rat Pack; A couple of guys hanging out and working together on their own terms. Frank, Dean and Sammy were role models for us, they were guys pooling together their talents, creating something new and having the freedom to do what they wanted. Friends coming together to do what they loved and working hard to make it happen. We now have 5 performers on board, each representing the characteristics of the guys associated with the Rat Pack. We have 6 piece band and a whole bag of ideas! We couldn’t fit them all in one show.”

The Tap Pack quintet consists at this stage of Jesse Rasmussen, Tom Egan, Rohan Browne, Kuki Tipoki and Dion Bilios. Along with their trusty captain and co-creator Jordan Pollard in the room, this pool of talent is over flowing. Between these boys you have over 50 years of experience in the industry, spanning across Musical Theatre, Television, Cabaret and all facets of song & dance.

Guiding these lads is Industry professional & NIDA graduate Nigel Turner-Carroll, who takes on the role of director for the show. Along with Musical Director Chris King (Legally Blonde) these boys are in more than good hands.

[pull_left]It started as a talk and a dream between friends. It soon evolved into a passion project and now it is actually happening. Our belief in the project has been unwavering and I believe that is what pushed us over the line[/pull_left]It is rare in this industry that our ideas that we write down on napkins at the bar at 2 am actually come to fruition and blossom. So when there are those who actually set out and do it, it is vital that we support them.

Jordan closed our conversation with:

“It started as a talk and a dream between friends. It soon evolved into a passion project and now it is actually happening. Our belief in the project has been unwavering and I believe that is what pushed us over the line. There has been so much collaboration with many talented friends and that has been very exciting to be a part of. The idea was there to re-imagine this concept, but it was the passion and brotherhood that helped make it a reality.”

The Tap Pack is a high energy, extremely witty and talent packed casino style show with just the right amount of Theatre infused throughout. These boys will blow you away with their skills and have you wanting to trade your beer in for a martini. As far as entertainers go, you really don’t get much better than these lads and although its just learning to walk, The Tap Pack will no doubt find it’s feet very quickly and make it’s footprint in the industry.