By John Lyle Belden

Show business is crazy.

Like really crazy, nuts, bonkers, cookoo! The kind of insane that you see in movies like “The Bad Seed” or “All About Eve,” which Joel Paley and Marvin Laird used as the touchstones for their 1990s Off-Broadway hit comedy musical, “Ruthless!” now presented by Carmel Community Players, directed by Kathleen Clarke Horrigan.

New York agent Sylvia St. Croix (Jeff Fuller) knows talent, and little Tina Denmark (Olivia Cook) has got it! Tina’s mother, Judy (Jonna Kauffman), sings very well for someone with no talent. Tina’s father, Frederick (Tristan Stecenko), is away on business.

The first step on Tina’s path to Broadway is getting the lead in the school production of “Pippi Longstocking: Pippi in Tahiti.” However, Miss Thorn (Holly Hathaway Thompson) has given the lead role to ungifted and unmotivated Louise Lerman (Jennifer Kaufmann). Tina can be the understudy, but she’s not settling for that.  

On hand to see Tina’s debut is Judy’s adopted mother, feared theatre critic Lita Encore (Jill O’Malia).  This show will be to die for!

That’s just the first act – after intermission, things get even more suspenseful and silly with rising star Ginger Del Marco (Jonna K.) and her assistant, Eve (Jennifer K.). Secrets will be revealed; a Tony award will be fondled; more characters will die dramatically.

And contrary to the title, there may even be a Ruth!

This clever parody and satire takes on the tropes of noir and theatre with equal gusto, a spectacle where over-the-top is never enough. The big song is Lita’s “I Hate Musicals!” wonderfully delivered by O’Malia – a nice palate cleanser between courses of chewing scenery.

Miss Cook shows herself capable to knock ‘em dead (not just literally) in any show. Fuller in mature-diva drag as St. Croix is commanding, and, in this setting, practically normal.  Jonna Kauffman gets in well-played moments as both ditz and diva, showcasing her dynamic voice.  Thompson and Jennifer Kaufmann are also gloriously goofy.

You’d be crazy to miss this. “Ruthless!” plays Thursday through Sunday at The Switch Theatre at Ji-Eun Lee Music Academy, 10029E. 126^th St., Suite D., Fishers. Get tickets at carmelplayers.org.