There is a little piece of so many great American classic musical theatre and films in RUTHLESS! The Musical, that's part of what makes it so much fun. Writers Joel Paley and Marvin Laird are incredibly witty and have crafted what I think is perhaps one of the funniest and enjoyable contemporary pieces of musical comedy around.

In addition to the movies you mention, there are nods to "The Women", "Valley of the Dolls" and even a little "Auntie Mame".

As with most productions, the casting is key. Having seen the L.A. production in February of 1994, it was hard for me to imagine anyone but Joan Ryan in the role of Judy Denmark/Ginger Del Marco. Her work in this role is truly amazing and with her very busy television and voice over career in Los Angeles, I was thrilled when she accepted our offer to join the SF cast. Every musical theatre fan should have at least one copy of the cast album of RUTHLESS! The Musical where Joan is featured with most of the original Los Angeles cast members.

Just before Joan signed onto the project I found the ideal Sylvia St. Croix for the SF premiere of this show and another very talented bay area actress to play our third leading role Tina Denmark, Donna Sachet and Hannah Rose Kornfeld, as well as a terrific supporting cast that includes Tony Award Nominee Sharon McNight (STARMITES), Pat Christenson, Erin-Kate Whitcomb, Ara Glenn-Johansen and Teresa Berry. Not to mention a terrific team of musicians, designers and stage crew.

Are you kidding? I am not going to touch this one.

Kristopher with Luba Mason

I am in contact with several valuable mentors and intently focused on developing and sharpening my directing and producing skills at the moment. In addition to my work as Director and Producer of RUTHLESS! The Musical, I have been commissioned to consult on new nightclub acts which will premiere in New York City toward the end of November. I also serve as consultant and tour manager for Broadway star Luba Mason, The Collage Tour, which recently played to rave reviews in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago.

Immediately after Roosevelt School for the Arts (high school) in 1996, I got a job with Casey Woody Entertainment based in Los Angeles, CA to tour the U.S. in productions of HMS PINAFORE and THE MIKADO. In 1997, I made the much anticipated move to NYC and attending programs at Broadway Dance Center and The American Musical Dramatic Academy where I studied Musical Theater and Dance Performance and eventually attended Fordham University at Lincoln Center where I showcased my work as a playwright and lyricist.

Kristopher with RUTHLESS! star Joan Ryan and vocalist Andrea Marcovicci

While attending Fordham I was out almost every night, and could typically be found either performing or attending cabaret shows at any one of the Manhattan Assoc. of Cabaret's clubs around the city. I fell in love with many of the people in this community and I remain truly inspired by this intimate saloon-like atmosphere as a way to really know a good performer better.

While I have done many regional theatre and regional productions and tours of musicals, I learned the most when I began to develop my debut cabaret show under the direction of Kleban Award recipient Barry Kleinbort and Musical Director Christopher Denny and additional arrangements by Daryl Kojak. After eighteen months of rehearsals and workshops the show debuted at the fabulous Laurie Beechman Theatre at West Bank Cafe in NYC and played in six weeks in November/December 2000. Into 2001, we toured the new show to circuit clubs outside of NYC and played the show multiple times at Jermyn Street Theatre in London during January and June of 2002.

My second cabaret project was a shameless Christmas revue inspired by a new friendship that developed with the late and truly wonderful Dick Gallagher who served M.D. and arranger for the revue with additional guidance from Producing Artistic Director of the York Theatre Company James Morgan. The holiday show included special guest stars such as Heather MacRae, Kim Cea, Ashley Rose Orr, Jeff Harnar, Philip Officer and others and played the last week of December in 2001 at the York Theatre in New York.

In addition to California Cabaret in San Francisco, I also serve as Artistic Director for a series created for the development of young audiences in Central California (www.CabaretSeries.org) producing cabaret style entertainment that features contemporary work and assists in the preservation of the Great American Songbook.

I find that audiences on each coast respond differently to cabaret at first site or mention of the word. It was amazing to realize when I returned to my native California that the word "cabaret" was perceived on a mainstream level as strippers or nude entertainment, which I do not personally produce at all nor what I was exposed to in New York or London. I think Central California Cabaret Series, California Cabaret and our dear friends Marilyn Levinsion at Bay Area Cabaret and of course, Rrazz Productions, have been breathing life back into the West Coast cabaret scene.

Basically, I have found that the more celebrated shows in New York by performers like Wesla Whitfield, Karen Mason, KT Sullivan with Mark Nadler and others I have mentioned in this interview also play well on either coast. Performers of this nature in my opinion have a real knack for telling stories expertly and offer their audiences well crafted shows where the audience members truly can celebrate great music and an amazing art form which so often appeals to theatre artists.

I wish as an aspiring performer, I better understood the work of the writers, directors, designers and producers. I don't think when I was younger I could truly appreciate all the work that they were doing. As the performer all I really had to do was learn the material, study the character and perform it which seems so easy as compared to the production side of things.

I feel blessed to have, and continue to glean from, so many wonderful mentors in New York, London, Los Angeles, the Central Valley and in the Bay Area today. As I begin my fifth year producing revues and cabaret in California I respect these people more and more.

In 1994 I remember sitting in the audience of the Canon Theatre in Beverly Hills (which is now a parking lot) and enjoying the L.A. production of RUTHLESS! The Musical. Despite the advice from a character in the show who warns, "Not a reason on earth as far as I know, to write, mount and open a musical show", I decided this would someday be a show I would produce and direct.