Ruthless!

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RUTHLESS!

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Cititour.com Review
Early on in “Ruthless!” Joel Paley and Marvin Laird’s deliciously campy musical, now getting a superior revival at St. Luke’s, pint-sized aspiring actress Tina Denmark (Tori Murray) sings a cheerful ditty called “Born to Entertain.” Truth to tell, this toe-tapping tune sums up the “heart” of this show, which not just mixes parts of “The Bad Seed,” “All About Eve,” and other showbiz tales with sheer abandon, but also provides killer parts for every member of the cast.

With her breathtaking lung capacity and cunning Shirley Templesque smile, Murray proves a worthy successor to Laura Bell Bundy, who played the role of the deadly serious Tina in the show’s award-winning Off-Broadway premiere in 1992. (She was succeeded then by Britney Spears and Natalie Portman). But, despite her copious talent, Murray can’t quite steal the spotlight from two of her adult co-stars. (Kind of an art imitating life thing, as you’ll discover).

In a remarkable Off-Broadway debut, Kim Maresca simply stuns as Tina’s mother, Judy, a vacant-eyed, always-smiling uber-housewife who undergoes a startling transformation once her true parentage is suddenly revealed. And once she takes on the mantle of superstar Ginger Del Marco, Maresca is even better, a powerhouse performer who practically channels Liza Minnelli.

RSC veteran Peter Land is divine as Sylvia St. Croix (a role always played in drag), a mysterious “acting coach” who shows up unexpectedly at the Denmark home and takes an unnatural interest in Tina. Land, a lanky, leggy man, is part Mama Rose, part Norma Desmond, blessed with a slinky deep voice that comes brilliantly into play in Syvia’s 11 o’clock number “I Want the Girl.”

Rita McKenzie, who has made a decades-long career out of playing Ethel Merman, has fun as Judy’s adoptive mother, Lita Encore, a nasty theater critic. She scores nicely with the very funny “I Hate Musicals,” but she never seems quite as drunk as the script indicates. Meanwhile,Andrea McCullough is a hoot as mannish drama teacher (and frustrated actress) Miss Thorn, and Tracy Jai Edwards is totally convincing as both Tina’s grade-school rival Louise Lerman, and then as Ginger’s conniving assistant “Eve Allabout”.

Paley’s mostly assured direction occasionally leads his actors to making bigger-than-necessary gestures, perhaps to compensate for the simple set (by Josh Iacovelli) and the ultra-minimal orchestra. But there’s no need for me to be ruthless in my criticism of “Ruthless!” I haven’t smiled so much or laughed that hard since “Something Rotten.”
By Brian Scott Lipton


Visit the Site
http://www.ruthlessthemusical.com

Cast
Peter Land, Kim Maresca, Rita McKenzie, Andrea A. McCullough, Tori Murray, Tracy Jai Edwards

Open/Close Dates
Opening 7/13/2015
Closing 9/10/2016

Preview Open/ Preview Close Dates
Preview Opening 6/25/2015
Closing Open-ended

Box Office
212-239-6200

Theatre Info
St. Luke's Theatre
308 West 46th Street
New York, NY 10036
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