Off-Broadway Smash RUTHLESS! to Close Tomorrow

The Off-Broadway smash RUTHLESS! THE MUSICAL will conclude its triumphant 14-month run tomorrow (Saturday) at St. Luke's Theatre, 308 West 46 Street (just west of Eighth Ave.) RUTHLESS! opened July 13, 2015 to unanimous rave reviews led by Entertainment Weekly which called the show, "Uproarious! A mash-up of THE BAD SEED, GYPSY, ALL ABOUT EVE, plus the films of Douglas Sirk and John Waters!" Just some of the celebrities spotted in the audience have included Ron Howard, Regis & Joy Philbin, Bernadette Peters, Lynn Cohen, Chelsie Hightower, Mario Cantone, Dmitry Chaplin, Laura Bell Bundy, Barbara Eden, Jan Maxwell, Legacy, LARRY THOMAS (The Soup Nazi), Jackie Hoffman, Sierra Boggess, and Dame Gillian Lynne. The original cast recording, produced by Robert Sher, is set for release this fall.

Book and lyrics for RUTHLESS! are by Joel Paley with music by Marvin Laird. Paley also directed the show's 1992 debut as well as productions in L.A., South Beach and the record-breaking concert event starring Bernadette Peters. He once again serves as director of the new production, with Marvin Laird on board as music supervisor.

When THE BAD SEED meets GYPSY, it's fun for the whole dysfunctional family! Tina Denmark is a pretty, charming and diabolical eight-year-old who "was born to entertain." With the encouragement of slick and overbearing potential agent Sylvia St. Croix, Tina will do anything to play the lead in her school play. The question is, where does such remarkable talent and unstoppable ambition come from? The answer is shocking in this award-winning Stage Mother of all musicals.

RUTHLESS! first appeared Off-Broadway 24 years ago at the Players Theatre, winning both the Drama Desk Award for Best Lyrics and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical. Most notably, the production featured a few young up & comers in the role of Tina including Britney Spears, Natalie Portman and Laura Bell Bundy. The show continues to be a favorite among regional theaters and productions are continually being staged around the globe.

But make no mistake - this is not your mother's RUTHLESS! This is no mere revival, but a newly imagined meditation on narcissism, talented tykes and stage mothers in a world that has since been introduced to such gems as "Toddlers & Tiaras" and 'Honey Boo Boo.'

This version of RUTHLESS! is the one co-creators Joel Paley and Marvin Laird have long envisioned. As Paley explains, "Before it became a full musical, it was a long one-act but, in the transformation, it became a two act musical because that's what was required to get it Off-Broadway. In this staging, we've done away with the intermission and have streamlined it into 90 minutes that's roller-coaster sharp and fast."

Featured in the cast of RUTHLESS! are Kim Maresca (THE NEXT STAGE at Feinstein's/54 Below, Westport's TWELFTH NIGHT), Paul Pecorino (DEVIL BOYS FROM BEYOND, THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW), Tori Murray (Nickelodeon's "All in with Cam Newton"), Rita McKenzie (Ethel Merman'S BROADWAY, RUTHLESS! L.A.), Andrea McCullough (URINETOWN, GREASE), and Tracy Jai Edwards(HAIRSPRAY, LEGALLY BLONDE).

RUTHLESS! is produced Off-Broadway by Maxine Paul, Evan Sacks and Ken Schur. The final performance will be tomorrow at 2 PM. Tickets are available through www.RuthlessTheMusical.com or by calling 212-239-6200.

To post a comment, you must register and login.