Opening at the Arts Theatre next week, Love London Love Culture explains why you should book to see this show…
1. Marvin Laird and Joel Paley’s music and lyrics: any musical that features a song titled ‘I Hate Musicals’ has got to be worth a watch hasn’t it? From watching the rehearsals there are plenty of other songs that have equally been sharply written and will be enjoyable to watch live.
2. Showcases new talent: there are four young actresses who will be alternating the central role of Tina – all but one of them having quite extensive West End experience, with the other making her West End debut in the production. This is a great experience for them all as when it made its Off-Broadway debut, Ruthless! The Musical featured Natalie Portman and Britney Spears as understudies….
3. Spoofs some classic Broadway musicals as well as iconic films: for those who love their Broadway musicals, you will probably delight in the references to musicals such as ‘Gypsy’ and ‘Mame’, while the musical also features undertones of films such as The Bad Seed and All About Eve – adding a dark layer to the musical.
4. Sharply witty script: there is no denying that while on the surface Ruthless! The Musical is light and fluffy (down to the playfulness of the music) but the dialogue suggests a darker comic side to the show that will hopefully be deliciously irresistible to audiences.
5. Perfect antidote for those who don’t like their musicals too sweet: in terms of a contrast to other musicals in the West End at the moment, you can’t get much more radically different than Ruthless! The Musical that focuses purely on ambition and greed that is not is shown in quite the same depth or as negatively in other musicals. Comparisons could be made to the plot of Gypsy and Hairspray, with its focus on mother and daughter’s ambitions opposing each other but in Ruthless it is done with a much more brutal edge.
Ruthless! The Musical will play at the Arts Theatre from the 16th March until the 23rd June. To book tickets click here or visit: Ticketmaster.co.uk, Encore Tickets, See Tickets.com, Love Theatre.com or Theatre Tickets Direct.co.uk.