Ruthless! at Actor’s Playhouse Through November 3

Paley, the writer and lyricist of this 1992 off-Broadway comedy, could not have foreseen YouTube, Toddlers & Tiaras, or Here Comes Honey Boo Boo more than a decade later. Or maybe he could — that would explain the uncanny prescience of his durable showbiz satire about an 8-year-old diva who will do whatever is necessary to become the star of her school play. David Arisco, who directs this production, calls it quite simply “the funniest play you’ll ever see.” As a bonus, theater buffs and cinephiles will appreciate the musical’s winking references to Gypsy, Mame, The Bad Seed, and All About Eve. The all-female cast (plus one guy in drag) includes Actors’ Playhouse regulars Amy Miller Brennan, Sally Bondi, and Jeni Hacker, but what’s already turning heads is the casting of local 12-year-old Julia Dale in her first professional production, as the pint-sized bad seed. The sixth-grade chanteuse has sung the National Anthem during Miami Heat games for the past three seasons, which have included national television coverage during the NBA Finals.