A salute to to MAC’s ‘grace’

Written by Chip Ramsey | 28 September 2009

The Saturday Independent congratulates the Manchester Arts Center on its successful delivery of a truly wonderful production, the musical comedy “Ruthless.”
Two-thirds of the TSI editorial staff attended the final productions of the show and were thoroughly entertained, as were, we’re sure, everyone who saw it. It was, as its director had promised, “Laugh out loud, fall on the floor, funny.” It was also an excellent piece of stagecraft with a fine and truly talented cast and crew, all of whom we commend for this worthy effort.
There are too many people deserving of special mention to list here, and we appreciate all of the hard work and volunteer effort that goes into the making  of a production of this quality.
So we will mention Selina Luc, appearing as a mother of a precocious young star-struck daughter, a woman who believes herself without talent, but discovering that she does  – about the same time her daughter kills an acting rival over the starring role in the third-grade production of “Pippi Longstocking in Tahiti” –  an act that sets off a multi-generational civil war over who has the “talent” in the family.
Mother heads for Broadway, as daughter heads for the “Institute for Psychotic Ingenues.” It’s an extremely silly instructional tale of how extreme silliness can lead to even more extreme silliness.
An extremely talented performer with an extremely powerful voice, Ms. Luc delivered a truly brilliant performance under what would seem the most trying of circumstances;  her grandfather became severely ill just before performances were to begin, and died soon before the final weekend.
“Grace under pressure” has been described by some as a definition of courage; we think the definition applies here. We also would be in no way surprised to if Ms. Luc eventually makes it to the real Broadway.