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Ruthless People: Ruthless - Arches Lane Theatre

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What is it about the Madoff’s that writers can’t resist writing about? Sure, it may have been the largest Ponzi scheme to collapse (so far), but there isn’t much more to explore. Or is there? In Ruthless by writer Roger Steinmann, Ruth Madoff is imagined as a wronged, gun-toting woman anchored in the past while trying to move on with her life. It’s not entirely successful but a fascinating look at life and wig choices, It’s currently playing at the theatre now known as the Arches Lane Theatre in Battersea. Ruth Madoff, played by Emily Swain, is here wearing a wig. I thought it was an odd look until I reviewed how closely it matched the photo of her interview in  The New York Times .  Typically, it’s the sort of wig you might see worn by Ladies on a night out in central London, not someone who once had over $80m in assets. With Bernie in Jail and both her sons now dead - one by suicide and one due to cancer, she is setting a table for the men who have left her. And ordering p...

Theatre: Sunday in the Park with George (West End transfer)

I couldn't resist catching a preview of the transfer of Sunday in the Park with George at Wyndham's Theatre Thursday evening. It starred practically the same cast that I saw at the Chocolate Factory with the exception that the female lead was played by Jenna Russell – who last I saw opposite Ewan Macgregor in Guys and Dolls. Russell gives it a bit more of a "star presence".

Even the technical glitches and the odd microphone dropout couldn't make this production look bad. The audience loved it as well. Sondheim and Lapine are there tomorrow night for a chat about the show and it surely must be a likely candidate for transfer to Broadway. There is a cast album about to come out shortly as well. There are indeed far worse things than sitting through the musical Sunday twice. And did I also hear additional lyrics in the song "Putting it Together"?

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