Ruthless! The Musical NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (217)
See it if You love classics like Gypsy, the bad seed and All about Eve and so many more. This up close venue is perfect for the show.
Don't see it if You can't do 90 minutes without intermission. The show feels a little long by the end.
See it if I really dont know what to expect but want more than you imagined with this funny campy musical
Don't see it if You don't like campy musicals
See it if GOOD ENTERTAINMENT
Don't see it if IF YOU DONT LIKE MUSICALS
See it if You enjoy spoofs of musicals like Gypsy and Mame, or if you're a fan of the movie The Bad Seed.
Don't see it if You're offended by profanity.
See it if You enjoy enthusiastic acting and singing, want to laugh, and enjoy a fun musical! High energy singing makes it an entertaining show!
Don't see it if You don't like cliched humor. It's actually a fun show with lots of talent!
See it if You are looking for a fun evening in an off broadway theatre.
Don't see it if You are looking for a polished broadway show.
See it if You like spoofs...camp...performers or One in Drag
Don't see it if You can't stand spoofs ...camp...performers or One in Drag
See it if You enjoy Over-The-Top spooficals! A genre unto itself that is fun if you can let yourself go (to the extreme) & chill!
Don't see it if You have problems with a man cross-dressing a la' Hairspray or some campy OTT subject matter performed with aplomb... Let it go! and go! ;-D
Critic Reviews (21)
"It’s a show that certainly provides laughter by the second, but also reveals a darkness you only begin to perceive hours after you’ve left the show. Are talented people worth more than the untalented? Is talent something that’s nurtured and developed, or something you’re simply born with? With outstanding performances and direction by Joel Paley 'Ruthless!' is a decadent night at the theatre complete with brilliant comedic performances and catchy tunes."
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"Paley has staged everything to within an inch of its life, with musical underscoring helping accent each move and piece of business. The acting, as in similarly camp-oriented farcical exercises, is decidedly overdone, but tactfully enough to keep it within bounds; you'll roar at some gags and gag at others."
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"This amusing theatrical parody of the cutthroat road to fame and stardom is talent filled…The adorable ten-year-old Murray is so reminiscent of a singing and dancing Patty McCormack. Her comic timing is killer… The original creator Joel Paley, directs this like a B-movie that is making fun at itself and for ninety minutes, we laugh at cheesy jokes, thrill at the campiness of it all, follow the plot line and the tuneful score. Ed Wood would have loved this show!"
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"The plot is predictable, but that is all part of the fun...This self-proclaimed 'Stage Mother of All Musicals' is wickedly hysterical, lighthearted summer fare that anyone into camp and parodies of old Hollywood will not want to miss."
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"'Ruthless!' offers few laughs, little suspense and no surprises...Mr. Paley is exaggerating the already exaggerated elements of musical farce to make fun of musical farce, and of musical theater in general. He’s trying to be corny on purpose. But his attempt at being corny is itself corny. He’s endeavoring to make fun of bad musicals with a musical that is worse than a lot of the ones he’s trying to make fun of."
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"This is not a show about plot- it's a show for people who love drag queen sensibility. The whole show plays with that sort of high camp. It's so finely crafted and the songs are really catchy and memorable."
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"To say that I loved the musical 'Ruthless' is a gross understatement. More accurately put, I loved, loved, loved 'Ruthless'...While much of the action is predictable, if not inevitable–that’s what spoofs are all about–the story of 'Ruthless' is like a favorite aunt who you know everything that she is going to say and do, but still you never tire at watching her do and say it...I am happy to announce that the musical was even better the second time around."
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"Don't be alarmed if this vicious musical with its vivaciously venomous score catapults you out of the theater on a high and keep you smiling even if it's into a sweltering summer night. Fear not that this deliriously campy show is only for the initiated or the intrepid...the story of how sweet little tap-happy Tina ruthlessly makes it to the top is one you may not want to miss, even if you relished it before...It still sings, snaps, and snarls all at the same time."
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