Ruthie's show was (to paraphrase
Voodoo Extreme) short and sweet. She was giving a scenic tour of her career through a cabaret. The stage was nothing but lights, a few monitor speakers, a piano and the pianist.
When I meant "short and sweet," the part that was a disappointment was the one-hour performance. Ruthie covered a few songs from "Nothing" from A Chorus Line, "Memory" from Cats, and a few songs from Crazy for You and Oliver!.
Ruthie did a few songs just for the sake of fun. The last time I heard "The Boy From..." (written by Stephen Sondheim for Mary Rodgers and The Mad Show) was from Karen Mason in Arci's Place. While Karen's rendition stayed away from being camp by playing the "mature but infatuated woman" angle, Ruthie ran foward to the field of camp with two maracas and her most high-pitched lisping little girl of a voice. She also did "How Lucky Can You Get" from John Kander and Fred Ebb, but she needs a good chorus of boys... Not a whole lot of boys like in Chicago's "Roxie," but a few guys to accompany her.
What got my goat was the brevity of the show. Ruthie gave me a permanent smile on my face, but that lasted for an hour. The show would have been better if she did something from Miss Saigon and continued her "tour" with a few songs Chicago: The Musical accompanied with her swinging her hips.
The next show for Ruthie will be the final month of Miss Saigon in the Broadway Theatre (53rd and Broadway, next to the Late Show with David Letterman in the Ed Sullivan Theatre).