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Regional Reviews: St. Louis Ruthless! Also see Richard's review of Big Machine
Ruthless! first ran for nearly ten months in 1992-93 at the Players Theatre in New York. And it's a perfect fit today for Stray Dog Theatre in St. Louis, under the splendid direction of Justin Been. Or maybe The Bad Seed is not the best analogy–the play takes a sharp turn into being a spoof of the film All About Eve after intermission, in act two. But somehow, like crazy twins on a double-bill, Ruthless! does manage to have it both ways, thanks to all involved in a great exercise by a great group. Everyone on stage is striving for their true diva moment, which as you may know is a bit of a trope in my crowd. So let's just say it's a musical comedy that knows where to look for bitchy laughs. With the excellent Finley Mohr as the little girl, and the great Sarah Gene Dowling as her mother, the show is off and running from lights-up. Sarajane Clark is the show's F-16s and ATACMs all rolled into one, as the narrator who's also a strange talent agent, resurfacing with alarming but admirable frequency. I think the cosmetics counter at Bloomingdale's still has more make-up than her character, Sylvia St. Croix, but not by much. The two elegant living-room sets, deceptively simple but very swanky under Tyler Duenow's lighting, are by Rob Lippert, with eye-catching "googie" style table lamps supplied by Artistic Director Gary F. Bell. There was a lot of very intentional but unpredictable "masking" movement beyond the stage-right entrance, toward off-stage, which involved the awkward skooching of a "flat" or masking wall beyond the far right door on the night I went, inching the flat back and forth, as if the actresses preparing for their entrance lacked sufficient elbow room. And the show goes on for about two and a half hours, which is a lot of playful satire, even for me. But the songs are delightful and meticulously directed by choreographer Sara Rae Womack and straight aces music director Randon Lane. Thanks to a gifted cast of singing actresses, the comedy is as sharp as a diamond drill. If not Stray Dog Theatre at the Tower Grove Abbey, then where else in St. Louis could a show like this possibly thrive so well? There was a revival at St. Luke's Theatre in New York in 2015 that cut about an hour off the run-time, and I'd kind of preferred to have seen that version instead. But this is the original, and I have to admit it's a full-blooded laugh riot with Ms. Clark and Laura Kyro as a Svengali and a theatre critic, respectively (though I like to think I can do both). And there is an unexpectedly clever and detailed supporting performance by Anna Langdon as third grade teacher Ms. Thorn, who turns up again later. And from Sarah Lantsberger: delicious as a drab and unworthy child actress in act one and then extra-extra good as the stage-struck "Eve Harrington" character in act two, both very much opposite and original characters, one from another. But I wish Stray Dog Theatre would go back to doing more serious dramas. They're so good at it! Lately it's been all "cheeky" theater, as a neighbor recently said. Ruthless! runs through August 24, 2024, at Stray Dog Theatre, Tower Grove East Abbey, 2336 Tennessee Avenue, St. Louis MO. For tickets and information, please visit www.straydogtheatre.org. Cast: Stray Dog Band: Production Staff: |
