At this point in Fringe, Pinky Swear Productions is as safe a bet as they come for a great night. They brought their Cabaret XXX brand to the festival in 2011, picking up a best musical award, and continued to rock the Baldacchino Gypsy Tent Bar stage last year with new material. They kick some serious ass again this year with the latest version of their cabaret, Cabaret XXXY: Who Do You Think You Are?

They’re faithful enough to the theme — an identity struggle, both personal and as a group, after one of their partners passed on the cabaret for its third incarnation. Meanwhile, they share anonymous secrets they’ve asked the audience to jot down pre-show in an attempt to help the audience discover who they are. In these bits, co-artistic directors and cabaret leads Allyson Harkey and Karen Lange are fantastic in how they ad-lib their interactions with the crowd. But the cabaret is really about these engaging women belting out some impressive vocals.

They promised a bigger and brassier show than last year, and they deliver. The company, with director Ryan Maxwell, brought in three new associates to assist Harkey and Lange on stage. A spunky, sultry, pitch perfect Clarissa Barton particularly shines after being plucked from the audience as just the Filipina with a great voice they needed to replace partner Toni. A four-man band solidly backs the ensemble, with Chris Herring taking a break from the drums to add the Y chromosome to Cabaret XXX and almost steal the show with his sexy song. That’s until a mash-up to end all mash-ups makes you forget everything that came before. That’s before Harkey and then Lange take powerful turns with Radiohead’s “Creep” and Florence and the Machine’s “Shake it Out,” respectively, that are vocally and emotionally perfect. They bring the story arc to a crescendo.

The associates bring some new women artists into the Pinky Swear fold. Barton is a powerful add, though it often feels that even she and the other associates are on the outside looking in. The ballads bring home the fact that in this electric cabaret, the power is provided by Harkey and Lange.

Remaining performances:
Friday, July 26, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, July 28, 5:30 p.m.
At Fort Fringe – Baldacchino Gypsy Tent Bar, 607 New York Ave. NW
Get tickets here.