Ruthless!
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| Ruthless! The Musical | |
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| Los Angeles Cast Recording | |
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| Music | Marvin Laird |
| Lyrics | Joel Paley |
| Book | Joel Paley |
| Productions | 1992 Off-Broadway 1993 Los Angeles |
Ruthless! The Musical is a musical with music by Marvin Laird and book and lyrics by Joel Paley that spoofs Broadway musicals, like Gypsy and Mame, and movies such as The Bad Seed and All About Eve.
The musical debuted off-Broadway on March 13, 1992 and closed January 24, 1993 after 342 performances. It was directed by Joel Paley and the musical director was Marvin Laird. (Laird was later the musical director for the Broadway revivals of Annie Get Your Gun (1999) and Gypsy (2003)). The central role of Tina was played by Laura Bell Bundy, but her understudies became even more famous: Britney Spears and Natalie Portman.
Ruthless! The Musical was then produced in Los Angeles at the Cannon Theatre where it opened on November 15, 1993.[1] A recording was made by the 1993 Los Angeles cast on Varese Sarabande and released March 29, 1994. The show won the 1993 New York Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical and has enjoyed a number of professional productions, particularly in regional theatre.
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[edit] Synopsis
- Act I
Judy Denmark, a bland housewife, is the mother of talented eight-year-old Tina, who declares, "I was born to entertain." At the suggestion that she should postpone her stage ambitions to be a normal child, she replies, "I've had a normal childhood. It's time to move on." Sylvia St. Croix, an overbearing and sleazy agent, encourages Tina to audition for the school play, Pippi in Tahiti, The Musical, feeding her thirst for stardom. Third-grade teacher and frustrated actress, Miss Myrna Thorn, directs Pippi. She casts an untalented (but parentally connected) girl, Louise Lerman, for the lead, making Tina the frustrated understudy. After "begging nicely and saying please," Tina "accidentally" hangs Louise from the catwalk with a jumprope so that she can play Pippi. Lita Encore, Judy's adoptive mother (and Tina's grandmother) is a tart-tongued theatre critic who "hates musicals." She shows up to review the premiere of Pippi in Tahiti, and, in a series of revelations, we learn that Judy is the daughter of Ruth Del Marco, a Broadway star from the past who was believed to have committed suicide because of bad reviews from - of course - Lita Encore. Judy recognizes that she herself is talented. ("I'm talented! God help me, I'm talented!")
- Act II
Once Tina's crime is discovered, she is sent away to the Daisy Clover School for Psychopathic Ingenues. Former housewife Judy Denmark is now a success on Broadway as diva Ginger Del Marco, but the world wants to know where she came from. "Modern Thespian" reporter Emily Block directs a pointed interview at Judy and discovers not only her housewife past but that she has a child. Tina is released from serving her time, and comes back to Ginger's fabulous penthouse apartment (and her jealous assistant, Eve.) Tina seems to be reformed, but Ginger sees through the act ("you're not that good") and calls her bluff. Mother and daughter face off for the limelight. Sylvia re-enters, wanting nothing more than to take Tina with her. She reveals that she is Ruth Del Marco, and Ginger's mother. She did not commit suicide, as was believed, but instead went into hiding. Suddenly, Eve pulls out a gun and, in a struggle, shoots and kills the reporter. In a series of ruthlessly self-serving gunshots, Eve, Sylvia, and finally Ginger/Judy are shot dead, and Tina declares, gun in hand, that there's no money in Broadway and that she's moving to Hollywood to get a series.
[edit] Characters and original cast
| Character | Original Off-Broadway Cast | Original Los Angeles Cast |
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| Tina Denmark, an 8 year-old aspiring child actress |
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| Judy Denmark/Ginger Del Marco, Tina's Mother and secret Broadway prima donna |
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| Lita Encore, a drama critic and Tina's grandmother |
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| Myra Thorn/Reporter, Tina's teacher |
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| Sylvia St. Croix, a talent agent |
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| Louise Lerman/Eave, a classmate of Tina and Ginger's assistant |
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- Note: Britney Spears and Natalie Portman understudied the role of in the original New York production.
- Laura Bell Bundy was succeeded in the original New York Production by Britney Spears and then Lindsay Ridgeway.
- Lindsay Ridgeway was succeeded in the original Los Angeles production by Kathryn Zaremba.
[edit] Songs
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- Unkie's Muncle (performed by Bernadette Peters and used as a recording in the production)
(Based on the 1994 Los Angeles cast recording)
[edit] Awards and nominations
Drama Desk Awards (1991-92)
- Laura Bundy -- Outstanding Actress - Musical (nominee)
- Donna English -- Outstanding Actress - Musical (nominee)
- Joel Paley -- Outstanding Director - Musical (nominee)
- Joel Paley -- Outstanding Lyrics (winner)
- "Ruthless" -- Outstanding Musical (nominee)
[edit] References
- ^ Daily Variety, Tom Jacobs, December 3, 1993
