Sarasota Players get comically ‘Ruthless’ to open 94th season
As it launches its 94th season, The Sarasota Players shows no signs of aging. The area’s oldest performing arts company is killing it with a lively musical about a young girl who will do anything, including murder, to become a star. Talent can be a blessing or a curse, we are told.
“Ruthless! The Musical,” created by Joel Paley and Marvin Laird in 1992, is a comical, bouncy and campy twist on all sorts of Broadway and Hollywood stories, including “Gypsy,” “Auntie Mame,” “All About Eve” and “The Bad Seed,” and the ambitions that drive performers to achieve fame, wealth and adoring audiences.
“I love puppies and Santa Claus, but they don’t hold a candle to applause,” sings the seemingly sprightly 8-year-old Tina Denmark, who is clearly modeled after Dainty June in “Gypsy.” She is determined to be cast in her elementary school production of “Pippi in Tahiti,” a world-premiere musical, in the leading role of Pippi Longstocking.
Sadly, Tina is cast as Pippi's dog, but her spirits are raised when she is cast as understudy to the ineptly untalented Louise Lerman, whose parents “bought” her the role. If something happens to Louise, Tina will get to go on. And wouldn’t you know it, something does, triggering a host of outrageous events that transform the lives of Tina; her housewife mother, Judy; her agent Sylvia St. Croix; her former actress teacher, Myrna Thorn; and Tina’s devastatingly caustic grandmother, Lita Encore. They are all seeking attention however they can get it.
The production is staged in the round by director and choreographer Scott Keys with intentionally broad strokes and smart touches that include small gestures, asides, and hilarious comebacks from his strong cast of actors.
As Judy, the most devoted mother you can imagine, Jennifer Baker spins and twirls each time she answers the phone to another adoring call about her daughter, as if she were channeling Donna Reed or another 1950s sitcom star. She uses her lovely singing voice to both encourage and admonish her daughter, and later reveals other sides of her personality that you know are coming.
Judy bows and curtsies at others with a delight that is mimicked by Tina, with darker shades in the way she oozes sweetness and deference with a sinister backdrop. Allie McLaughlin lets you see Tina has ulterior motives and that she knows how to manipulate her mother and others to get her way. The young performer has a big voice that she occasionally pushes too far, but she has all the right instincts.
Heath Jorgenson performs in drag as Sylvia, who has plenty of secrets hidden under her elegant dresses, designed by costume designer David Walker, who captures the spirit of each character with his clothing. Jorgenson is commanding and controlling as Sylvia, who had her own performing career before she started working with youngsters. Leslie Van Brink plays the teacher Myrna as a woman on edge and in constant need of a drink to get her through the days of working with elementary school actors. Shawn Marie Spears wins laughs with her broad strokes playing both young Louise and Eve, an actresses’ assistant who has her own dreams of stardom.
Nancy Denton is only on stage briefly as Judy’s mother, Lita, the bitter and crushing theater critic, but she makes the most of every moment singing the hilarious “I Hate Musicals,” which mocks all sorts of theatrical traditions.
Ken Junkins has designed a set that allows audience members to see from all angles and reveals the way the family changes its status over the two acts. The actors are well supported by a small off-stage band led by musical director Carl Haan.
Together, they create some outrageous fun, particularly for the biggest fans of the shows and films “Ruthless!” so maliciously skewers.
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‘Ruthless! The Musical’
Book and lyrics by Joel Pailey, music by Marvin Laird. Directed and choreographed by Scott Keys. Reviewed Sept. 28, The Sarasota Players, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, Suite 1130. Tickets are $30, $13 for students 24 and younger; 941-365-2494; theplayers.org
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Review: Sarasota Players opens 94th season with laughs for ‘Ruthless!’
