"Ruthless!: The Musical" - Sensational!

Ruthless!: The Musical is an absolute sensation of a show, currently available on Broadway HD. I adore it! It is a fabulously entertaining and perceptive parody of Broadway musicals which brilliantly critiques ruthlessness and ambition. For me, the show gets better every time I watch it, which compelled me to write a few thoughts about why I love it so much.

The show is made special by the strength of the extraordinarily talented cast who work so well together and constantly lift each other’s performances. Jason Gardiner is gloriously divine as Sylvia St Croix, Tina’s deliciously ambitious and persuasive agent who shines every time he appears on stage. Jason Gardiner clearly relishes every moment of this role and absolutely captivates the audience. He is perfect as Sylvia St Croix, expertly persuading, manipulating and encouraging the frighteningly ambitious Tina Denmark. Jason Gardiner’s voice is magnificent and he sings “Talent” perfectly, setting the tone for what is to come.

Anya Evans is sensational as Tina Denmark, her wonderfully powerful voice shines in “Born to Entertain”. In a world in which talent is everything, her desire to be the best, “I wanna be gooder!” comes at a price. Her horror at being cast as Louise Lerman’s understudy is inspired and, for a girl who states, “all I need is your applause” this situation is unthinkable. Anya Evans and Lara Denning play Tina and Louise perfectly and the mutual loathing between the characters leads to some fantastic comedy moments.

Kim Maresca is superb as Judy Denmark, Tina’s “talentless” mother, living in her daughter’s shadow. As she says, she has “no talent whatsoever” – apparently! Kim Maresca’s timing is brilliant as she expertly moves through the show with its endless twists, turns and surprises.

Harriet Thorpe is a genius choice of casting as Myrna Thorne. She delivers a powerhouse performance as the, strong-minded, bitter and frustrated actress turned teacher, constantly delighting the audience with her impeccable comic timing. Harriet Thorpe commands the stage with her extraordinarily powerful voice and delights the audience with her rendition of “Teaching Third Grade”. Her resentment comes through perfectly in the wonderful line, “life’s a bitch and it starts in third grade”. Myrna Thorne is an unstoppable force of nature with her hilarious determination to see her show go ahead at all costs. Harriet Thorpe’s asides to the audience, “douchebag” and “even I wouldn’t pay to see this” are inspired. She captivates the audience with her sensational performance as Myrna and the energy and strength she brings to the show every time she appears on stage is infectious.

Equally superb is the ever brilliant, Tracie Bennett, who makes the audience smile from her first entrance. As the cynical theatre critic, Lita Encore, every movement and every action is hilarious and adds to her genius performance. Tracie Bennett’s wonderful voice is a delight to listen to; she sings, “I Hate Musicals” with vibrancy, strength and perfection. No one escapes her scathing attitude towards musical theatre; not even when they star her granddaughter! Family doesn’t come close when talent, reputation and ambition are at stake.

Ruthless!: The Musical is a superb, intuitive, intelligent and wonderfully perceptive show which takes the audience on a rollercoaster of a journey from its opening scene right through to its wonderful finale. It is fun, hilarious, joyous, outrageous and a brilliantly accurate observation of the darker side of society and human nature. Its twists and turns delight and entertain and Tina’s line, “do you have any idea how many people you have to destroy to make it in this business?” epitomises the dangers of ruthless ambition. An absolute must-watch!

Ruthless!: The Musical is available to watch on Broadway HD