“Ruthless! The Musical” at KMC Onstage (SrA Kyle Kostner)
Join KMC Onstage for this morbidly funny fable about the power and pitfalls of talent and fame.
Directed by Mindy Malenius, “Ruthless! The Musical” starts out saccharine-sweet with a picture-perfect family but quickly and hilariously devolves into murder and mayhem.
Despite having no talent herself, glassy-eyed Judy Denmark (Iryna Osipova) is mother to Tina (Amelie Peters), a singing and dancing prodigy.
“Where does talent come from?” wonders talent agent Sylvia St Croix (Naythen B. Rinehart). “Is it a product of one’s environment...Or is talent something you’re born with, something passed down from generation to generation?”
Little Tina dreams of stardom, but when she doesn’t get the lead in her school musical, she decides to take matters into her own hands in this macabre, yet wildly entertaining, musical.
“Ruthless! The Musical” at KMC Onstage (Ann Pinson)
Campy and clever, “Ruthless” could come off as heavy-handed, but the actors are so committed to the bit, that the audience feels inclined to fulfill their own role with appropriate gasps and guffaws at just the right moment.
Entering to find seats, we encounter the Denmark’s perfect suburban living room, with walls covered in framed portraits of little entertainer Tina. Her mother takes her role as housewife seriously and nothing is out of place. Shelves are covered in trophies and ribbons testifying to Tina’s stardom.
The live pit band gives the cozy theater a jazzy nightclub vibe, which is enhanced at intermission as the set is transformed into a beautiful art deco apartment with black-and-white photos of a famous Broadway star and a fully-stocked liquor cabinet.
“Ruthless! The Musical” at KMC Onstage (SrA Kyle Kostner)
As the show continues, we get to know the director of Tina’s school play, Miss Thorn (Al Church), who gives a very relatable performance on giving up on one’s dreams and the importance of having something to fall back on. Despite early success as an actress, she has returned to the steady paycheck and summer vacations of being a teacher. With a maniacal grin, Miss Thorn declares that she’s absolutely fine with the way her life turned out, but her song quickly devolves into some not-safe-for-work comments that leave Judy trying to uncomfortably edge out of the scene with the audience hooting.
The indicatively red coloration of ruthlessness is a theme sprinkled throughout the performance. The color is prominent in props and costumes, from the bright Pippi Longstocking wig that keeps turning up to Sylivia’s silk turban and the gorgeous ballgowns of Act II. Even the programs handed out at the door are red, reminding us to be on the lookout for ruthlessness amongst the whole cast.
“Ruthless! The Musical” at KMC Onstage (SrA Kyle Kostner)
Despite a framed family photo on the wall of the Denmark home, the recurring joke is that no one really knows where Frederick, Judy’s husband and Tina’s father, is at the moment, or even what he does for work. Even Judy’s adoptive mother Lita (Kandel Baxter) proclaims, “Wait. You’re married?” when she comes to visit. KMC Onstage newcomer TSgt Hernando Ortega III, as Frederick Denmark, does in fact arrive at just the wrong moment, and his bewildered commitment to the final song and dance make me think that perhaps Tina’s comedic talent comes from both parents.
The cast is full of KMC Onstage veteran talent and features Peters as the show’s only youth performer. While the characters are all female, Rinehart brings an exquisite gravitas to Sylvia St. Croix, and Al Church evokes an endearing and over-medicated Ms. Frizzle in his portrayal of Miss Thorn. The casting is superb and each actor is devoted to their role. I need to give a special callout to Kandel Baxter, who I swear I don’t just love because she plays theatre critic Lita Encore. Her drunken ballad professing her hated for musicals is pure comedic gold; from her wobbly dance steps to the sloshes of her drink on the stage floor, she keeps the audience rolling.
“Ruthless! The Musical” at KMC Onstage (Ann Pinson)
Arrive early since seats are not assigned. There are adult themes and language, so leave the little ones at home.
In the end, this irreverent comedy with it is theatre-insider jokes and twisty turns makes you ponder the addictive power of talent and fame. I think we can all use some time away from doom-scrolling and “Ruthless” provides two+ hours of side-splitting laughs and gasps of shock (some real and maybe some manufactured). Make a plan to see it!
Reserve tickets on the KMC Onstage WEbTrac site.
Performance dates:
March 15, 2025 at 2p.m. and 7p.m.
March 16, 2025 at 2p.m.
March 21, 2025 at 7p.m.
March 22, 2025 at 2p.m. and 7p.m.
March 23, 2025 at 2p.m.
