RUTHLESS! Comes to NCTC in December

 In December, New Conservatory Theatre Center Will Close out 2023 with a grand finale - Marvin Laird and Joel Paley’s razor-sharp and outrageously funny Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Award-winning hit, RUTHLESS!, directed by Dyan McBride.

Tina Denmark is an adorable and talented 8-year old with a tiny murderous streak. When the lead role of Pippi Longstocking in the school play is up for grabs, she knows she’ll get the part – even if it means leaving a few bodies along the way. Spoofing classics from The Bad Seed to Gypsy, this cult-hit musical is a deliciously diabolical look at fame, ambition, and the perils of musical theatre.

Playing December 1, 2023 – January 7, 2024, the Opening Night for RUTHLESS! is Saturday, December 9 at 8pm. Wednesday and Thursday evening performances will have an early showtime of 7:30pm.  Tickets are $25–65 and are available at nctcsf.org, by emailing boxoffice@nctcsf.org, or by calling (415) 861-8972. Pay-what-you-wish tickets are available for preview performances, December 1-8, and can be reserved starting one week before the first performance through the box office. An enhanced safety performance with additional COVID safety precautions will take place on Thursday, December 14. 

Audiences can enjoy these special events during the run of the show:

• Low-cost Previews: Friday, Dec 1 - Friday, Dec 8, 2023

• Opening Night will take place on Saturday, Dec 9, 2023 at 8pm

• Enhanced Safety Performance with limited capacity seating and additional COVID safety precautions will take place on Thursday, Dec 14, 2023 at 7:30pm

• Happy Hour is a Drag: Happy hour is back! Enjoy music, cocktails, and a special drag performance on Wednesday nights pre-show. Hosted by San Francisco sensation Martha T. Lipton. Free with ticket purchase.

  • Wednesdays, doors open at 6:30 pm, show begins at 7:00: Dec 6, 13, 27 and Jan 3

• An Added Matinee Performance will take place on Saturday, Dec 16 at 2pm

• Onstage Insight, Post-Show Discussion featuring the cast, and moderated by the director will take place after the performance on Sunday, Dec 17 at 2pm.

• Additional special events to be announced!

Marvin Laird’s (Music, pronouns: he/him) recent piece, The Yiddish are Coming…! The Yiddish are Coming…! is currently playing regionally throughout North America. He has conducted and written dance and vocal arrangements for over two dozen Broadway and West End shows, including the award-winning production of Annie Get Your Gun, and the 2003 Broadway revival of Gypsy. 

Joel Paley (Book & Lyrics, pronouns: he/him) directed the first production of RUTHLESS! at The Players Theater, which won the 1993 Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical, and for which Joel won the Drama Desk Award as Best Lyricist. Additional highlights of a diversified career include: appearing on Broadway, National Tour and on television with Shirley MacLaine in Where Do We Go From Here?; directing the ABC comedy/variety series SHE-TV (Carsey/Werner Productions); conceiving and staging and all-singing, all-dancing showroom parody for Bob Newhart; and writing (with Laird) and staging the opening production sequence of the Academy Award-nominated life action short film, A Different Approach.

The cast of RUTHLESS! includes Jacqueline De Muro (Lita Encore), J. Conrad Frank (Sylvia St. Croix), Mary Kalita (Judy Denmark), Hayley Lovgren (Miss Thorn), Brie Martin (Swing), Danielle Mendoza (Swing), Melissa Momboisse (Tina Denmark), and Lucca Troutman (Louise/Eve). The creative team includes choreography by Staci Arriaga, costume design by Wes Crain, production management & casting coordination by Toni Guidry, set design by Matthew Owens, sound design by Kalon Thibodeaux, and musical direction by Joe Wicht.

New Conservatory Theatre Center has been San Francisco’s premier LGBTQ+ and Allied performing arts institution and progressive arts education conservatory since 1981. NCTC is renowned for its diverse range of innovative, high-quality productions, touring productions and shows for young audiences; its foundational anti-bullying work with youth and educators through YouthAware; and its commitment to developing new plays to continue expanding the canon of queer and allied dramatic work.

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