What goes from lip-sync to lecture and back again in 90 minutes? Broadway Seth Rudetsky Style at the Out of the Loop Fringe Festival at WaterTower theatre. Man of many musical talents, Seth Rudetsky, takes a critical look at popular singing style. If you are a fan of the Great White Way, this is a special treat.

From singers Barbara to Cher, from voices head to belt, from shows Fiddler to West Side, nothing is sacred. Seth shares his techniques for “deconstructing” a performance to show why it is am-ah-zing (flourish) or am-ah-zing (eye roll) and how some can be both. Confused? It doesn’t matter because Seth’s style from chatty to Cathy and all the catty in between is everything you would expect from a musical theater expert. And it isn’t opinion and anecdotal evidence submitted for your approval. Rudetsky has compiled hard fact in the form of track after track and clip after clip of rights and wrongs in vocal performance, dance and costuming. He even edits them down to get the pieces for comparison right next to each other. After witnessing the travesties for yourself, you can’t say he puts the rude in Rudetsky, especially when he turns the spotlight on himself. Yes, even he doesn’t escape the scrutinizing gaze.

The audience was full at 5 pm on Saturday. Many of them were probably fans of his Sirius/ XM Radio show. After awhile even they began to laugh less and smile more, though. It’s hard to be an expert and share your exacting standards about a subject and make it interesting for 90 minutes. Like a civil war historian explaining a battle, even the reenactments get a little long in the tooth after a while. This isn’t to say it isn’t a good time. Just don’t expect anything profound or life changing. At best this is just criticism from a really fun source. Wait. That sounds familiar. Maybe I need to turn the spotlight on myself. Aw, wouldn’t be nearly as fun.