Review by drednm

Ruthless! is a videotaped performance of the West End musical in 2019 and it's a hoot and a half. The plot is a mash-up of pieces of The Bad Seed, Gypsy, All About Eve, and even Auntie Mame and features an all-female (sort of) cast. It's deliberately over the top and it's funner than hell. Kim Maresca plays the dull housewife who has a talented kid named Tina (Anya Evans) who's cast as the understudy in the school play. She kills off the star to get the lead. Harriet Thorpe (from Absolutely Fabulous) plays the pushy director, and Jason Gardiner plays the would-be female agent with a really big secret. It turns out you gotta have talent in your blood to be a star and it sometimes skips a generation which explains miss mousey housewife. Her mother (Tracie Bennett) was an actress-turned-critic and she hates musicals. But she has a secret also. Act 2 picks up the plot after Tina is released from prison but still wants to be a star. Great fun. Lots of inside jokes. Great performances.