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Ruthless!
The Musical
Book & Lyrics by Joel Paley
Music by Marvin Laird
Directed by Bill Jenkins
Produced by Noble Fool Theatricals
At Pheasant Run Resort
4051 E. Main St.
St. Charles, IL
Call 630-584-6342, tickets $27 - $37
Wednesdays thru Fridays at 8 PM
Saturdays at 4:30 & 8:30 PM
Sundays at 2 PM
Running time is 2 hours. 20 minutes with intermission
Through August 19, 2006
Ruthless! is hilarious, tuneful and splendid entertainment
What a treat! To think I’d take the long ride to St. Charles to Pheasant Run Resort to see an obscure musical was amazing. I’m sure glad I did since Ruthless! was fantastic. I can’t remember laughing as much as I did with this show.
Ruthless! is a campy, outrageously funny parody of Shirely Temple flicks and films such as The Bad Seed and All About Eve, as well as the musical, Gypsy. The show doesn’t take itself seriously and neither will we.
No one will get in 9 year-old Tina Denmark’s (Natalie Berg) way toward her destiny to stardom. Not her easy-going mother, Judy (Wendy Mortimer), her neurotic agent, Sylvia St. Croix (David Kortemeier in full drag), nor will addle-brained teacher and former ingénue, Myrna Thorn (Marissa Noel Swanson) nor, of course, will her student competition derail Tina’s bubbling ambition. She was ‘born’ to play Pippi Longstockings in the third grade musical.
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This murder-musical farce parodies the child-star-gone-wrong genre as it creates a goofy, yet winning comedy with clever, bouncy tunes that leaves us smiling. What powers this manic musical comedy is the powerhouse performance from Natalie Berg as the 3rd grader, Tina. While possessing the look and squeaky voice of a little girl, Berg has the polished vocals and impeccable comedic timing and intensely strong looks with wild eyes that deftly land the scary homicidal ingénue she plays. (Research tells me Berg is in her twenties). This isn’t the whining kid some productions use.
David Kortemeier was a hoot despite flubbing many lines as Sylvia, the pompous theatrical agent who feeds Tina’s dreams of stardom. Kortemeier is the catalyst for much of the show’s campy humor as he delivers many wacky moments, quick asides and stinging retorts. His drag mannerism depict femininity yet his rich baritone betrays him, yet his campy manner delights.
As terrific as Berg and Kortemeier were, Wendy Mortimer, as Tina’s mother, delivers the most complete roles as she emerges from the dull, doting Donna Reed-type mother into a Broadway diva. Mortimer sets up many funny bits at first, then becomes the focal point of the humor in act two. Possessing solid voice and comic instincts, Mortimer delivers the show’s finest moments. Renee Matthews adds energy as the Judy’s mother, Lita Encore, the famous theatre critic who smartly nails “I Hate Musicals” in a satirical tribute to the form.
Ruthless! spoofs child actors, housewives, critics, agents, teachers and its song parodies and gags attack society with a nicely politically incorrect tone.
With cute tunes like “Born to Entertain,” “Talent,” “Where Tina Gets It From,” Ruthless! Has a peppy vaudevillian score, music by Marvin Laird and richly funny lyrics by Joel Paley propel the show and help land the many funny parts. The cast mugs their jokes a tad too much, the show could use some tightening and a quicker pace, but ultimately there are enough juicy scenes, played for all the laughs contained with a few more added by the talented players. The supporting players add much, even too much at times—but that’s what makes this over-the-top humor work. Since they are funny, we indulge.
Ruthless! Plays on a realistic 1950’s kitchen set complete with pastel patter wall paper that turns into a gaudy bluntly vivid purple-orange New York penthouse in Brian Sidney Bembridge’s terrific design.
Ruthless! is so funny, so wild, so unpredictable and so pleasing with likable characters who sing and land their comedy with aplomb that we forgive the minor flaws because the music soars and the laughs abound in a thoroughly engaging show. You’d me hard pressed to find better comics than the cast of Ruthless! Take the ride west on Route 64 (North Avenue) to Pheasant Run to see Noble Fool Theatricals’ production of Ruthless! The Musical. Artistic director John Gawlik has Noble Fool Theatricals on the right track.
Highly Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed: June 21, 2006
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