You know how you cringe when people scrape their nails on a blackboard? That’s how I felt watching the Off-Broadway show, “Ruthless! The Musical.” The show is a satire with references to “Gypsy,” “The Bad Seed” and “All About Eve.” The humor is sarcastic and biting if you know the stories. However, some of the original material is obscure, notably The Bad Seed, a 1954 novel by William March. In the book, a young, seemingly angelic girl kills to get what she wants. Her mother does research and realizes that the crimes are the work of a serial killer and decides that murder is in the girl’s genetic makeup. What makes it even worse is that young Tina has theater in her genes and will do anything to get a part.
The show is very campy. Paul Pecorino, with a Cruella DeVille striped wig and overly exaggerated gestures, plays Sylvia St. Croix. Striking melodramatic poses, “she’s” a flamboyant agent who wants to represent Tina (Tori Murray). Both Murray and Pecorino seem to be shouting most of the time.
Rita McKenzie is Lita Encore, the theater critic who sings the one cute number in the show, “I Hate Musicals.” She sounds like Ethel Merman in her later years when her vibrato went on forever. “You want to create a sensation, use a Hollywood star and amplification.” The best performer is Kim Maresca who refers to herself merely as Tina’s mother until she learns that she, too, has talent in her genes.