“Ruthless” director talks about upcoming play

A young girl who would do anything to get the lead role in a musical. A naive mother who sees her daughter as a sweet star-to-be. A lot of music. Some madcap violence. A lot of laughs.

That’s what audiences can expect when Ruthless hits the stage this week at The Switch Theatre at the Ji-Eun Lee Music Academy, 10029 E. 126th St., Suite D, Fishers.

The Reporter spoke to Carmel Community Players’ Ruthless director Kathleen Horrigan about the show … and no, this newspaper is not saying Horrigan is ruthless as a director. Having not been in a play with her, we are also not saying she isn’t.

“It’s based on the play The Bad Seed, but it’s more in the vein of musicals like Mame and Gypsy,” Horrigan told The Reporter. “A little girl wants to be the lead in a musical, but she doesn’t get the part, and she’s very upset by it. She comes from a musical family in some ways, but her mother is not talented. The mother wants her child to succeed, but she has to learn to be disappointed, and she is very disappointed, so she goes to extreme measures to get the part.”

Photo by Duane Mercier

Horrigan said this play was a stretch for her as a director.

“I’ve been doing a lot of serious shows. I just directed Bus Stop for Epilogue Players, and last year I did Violet for Carmel Community Players,” Horrigan said. “So I kind of wanted to dip my finger into something more of a comedy. This is, I’ll say, PG-rated, maybe like a Carol Burnett kind of show. And yes, there are a lot of melodramatic moments, so it’s very different than what I’m used to doing.”

Casting provided some challenges, including finding a young actress who could be, well, ruthless, while also having the talent to be in a musical comedy.

“So I had to find that and find a parent that would understand,” Horrigan said. “A lot of parents wouldn’t want their child [to be seen in the ways this play demands]. We had a very cooperative mother. She’s been at all the rehearsals and has been around all of us. And it is a comedy, so it’s all done in a different tone.”

Another aspect of this show that made casting interesting is that all the characters in the show are female, except for the father who comes on at the end.

“It was interesting to find a group of women of various ages,” Horrigan said. “The little girl, her mother, her grandmother, and then an agent, and then another woman that plays a child. In Act 1, she’s a child. In Act 2, she’s an adult. We had to find people who could play all those parts. And I very successfully was able to do that.”

While this is a play about a ruthless young girl, it should be noted that this is not a play for children. As Horrigan said, it should be considered a PG-rated musical comedy.

“I will guarantee that there we’re going to get laughs from every single character in the show,” Horrigan said. “I have so much talent. I’m very grateful.”

Carmel Community Players will stage Ruthless April 4 to 13 at The Switch Theatre at the Ji-Eun Lee Music Academy, 10029 E. 126th St., Suite D, Fishers. Go to carmelplayers.org/whats-on-stage/tickets or call (317) 815-9387 for tickets.

Photo by Duane Mercier