Citadel Theatre’s ‘Ruthless! The Musical’ gives two young north suburban performers a chance to be stars
In “Ruthless! The Musical,” which will be performed at Citadel Theatre in Lake Forest from April 15 to May 17, an 11-year-old girl goes homicidal after losing the lead in a school musical to a classmate she feels is less worthy of the part. If this sounds a too dark a story, rest assured the musical is actually a hilarious satire of show business ambition gone amok.
The leading role of Tina Denmark offers young performers the opportunity to showcase their singing and dancing skills in 10 of the show’s 23 musical numbers. Even more importantly, they can display their acting chops by creating a character far more complex than the usual sunny and optimistic kid roles like Annie. For those reasons, Tina Denmark in “Ruthless!” is considered a “dream role” among preteen musical theater performers.
Over 50 girls auditioned for the role, according to Christina Ramirez, managing director of the award-winning Actors Training Center in Wilmette, who is directing Citadel’s “Ruthless!” Olivia Mulder of Round Lake Beach, 12, and Catharina Araujo of Glencoe, 11, emerged from that crowd and will share the part in alternate performances.
They got the part because they are truly triple-threats,” Ramirez said, adding that the role requires performers who can sing, dance, and act. It’s no surprise that the role in 1992 launched the career of an 11-year-old Laura Bell Bundy, who would go on as an adult to star in the original Broadway productions of “Legally Blonde” and “Hairspray,” and of Britney Spears and Natalie Portman, who understudied the role of Tina.
How can such young actresses play a complex character like Tina, whose duplicitous and violent nature is hidden behind a sunny exterior?
“While both girls have extensive credits in theaters like Metropolis Arts Center in Arlington Heights, Big Noise Theater in Des Plaines and Music Theater Works in Skokie, Olivia and Cat have experienced some rejection in their careers as well,” Ramirez said. “They can understand Tina’s feelings when she loses the leading role in the school musical. They’re creating their character by building on that feeling, using their great gifts of imagination that are so common in kids of their age.”
In addition to creating an over-the-top character of a kid performer who would kill for a leading role, “Ruthless!” pokes fun at a variety of theater archetypes. There’s the stage mother played by Annie Beaubien, a nasty theater critic played by Jenny Rudnick, and a pushy agent played customarily by a man in drag; in this cast, by Bob Bullen. The cast also includes Samantha Mayer as Miss Myrna Thorn, a frustrated third-grade teacher and aspiring director; and Melody Rowland in the dual roles of Louise Lerman, the untalented, innocent classmate who lands the lead role, and Eve, a reporter and adoptive mother to Louise.
While musical theater fans will spot the satirical targets, Ramirez says “Ruthless!” has broader appeal.
“Classic movie lovers will recognize nods to ‘The Bad Seed,’ ‘All About Eve,’ and the screwball comedies of the 1930s and ’40s. There’s even a song called ‘I Hate Musicals’ for those who don’t consider the genre high art.”
Ramirez believes anyone who enjoys either musicals or old Hollywood will find something to love in ‘Ruthless!’”
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays, with additional Wednesday matinees at 1 p.m. on April 30 and May 13. Tickets to “Ruthless! The Musical” are priced at $45 and are now on sale at citadeltheatre.org.
Citadel Theatre is in residence on the West Campus of the Lake Forest School District at 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest. Additional information and ticketing are available on the theater’s website.