“Kerry Butler, as the Greek demi-goddess Clio, who also roams Venice Beach as the Australian mortal Kira, is simply heaven on eight little polyurethane wheels. Or heaven in leg warmers. (Actually she’s both: the skates and woolens are Ms. Newton-John’s memorably ghastly signature look from the movie, though the costume designer David Zinn chose not to drape her in those fetching peasant blouses.) Ms. Butler is the rare Broadway ingénue who is as funny as she is pretty, and she sings gloriously, too, both in her own tangy Broadway belt and in a devastatingly funny impersonation of Ms. Newton-John’s sweetly sighing soprano. (When Ms. Butler is speaking Australian, she’s actually a ringer for a fresher import from Down Under, Nicole Kidman.) She’s got a lovely line in arabesque on those skates, too! Can Audra McDonald or Kristin Chenoweth do that?” – Charles Isherwood, The New York Times

“…it's hard to imagine anyone more irresistible than Butler in the role of Kyra, the daughter of Zeus who risks her immortality for human love and the chance to create rather than just inspire.  Not only is Butler the most supremely confident woman on wheels since Raquel Welch in "Kansas City Bomber," but her delicious parodying of Newton-John's breathy vocals makes her numbers a hoot. The actress showed priceless comic timing as the original Penny in Broadway's "Hairspray" …here, she has charm to spare, whizzing around in a gossamer pink number with matching leg-warmers, coupling Newton-John's vanilla wholesomeness with a sly touch of the trampy and sporting a comically exaggerated Australian drawl.” – David Rooney, Variety

“Kerry Butler …is simply out of this world as Kira. She has gorgeous pipes, great comic flair and puts on a fab faux Aussie accent that could make dingoes howl for more.” –- Joe Dziemianowicz, New York Daily News

“Kerry Butler brings a devilish edge to the romantic absurdities of Kira, the nymph in '80s leg warmers who attempts Newton-John's Australian accent, when she feels like it, and who skates into the heart of Sonny, updated here from a painter of album covers to a sidewalk muralist.” – Linda Winer, Newsday

“Ms. Butler's near-perfect take on Kira has a lot to do with this added comfort level. Ms. Newton-John's Australian accent was about as appropriate for a Greek muse as it was for a bobby-soxer at Rydell High School, one of many incongruities that Messrs. Beane and Ashley exploit mercilessly. Ms. Butler's approximation of her predecessor is viciously adept: She somehow stuffs every single vowel into the word "go," thins out her redoubtable voice to replicate Ms. Newton-John's watery upper register, and conveys a singular unease whenever on her ubiquitous roller skates. Both in on the joke and completely in tune with Kira's burgeoning humanity, Ms. Butler pushes past the leg warmers and wooden dance moves to unveil a real character.” – Eric Grode, The New York Sun

“At the center of the show is Kira (the Newton-John role), the beautiful Greek muse who decides to help Sonny achieve artistic fulfillment. She's played here by the delightful Kerry Butler, a veteran of the Broadway casts of Hairspray and the 2003 revival of Little Shop of Horrors. The sweetly appealing Butler, decked out in flowing blond hair, does double duty. She sings with ease as she speeds around designer David Gallo's vaguely ancient Grecian setting. The actress knows how to slyly snare a laugh, too, and Beane has given her plenty. There's even another homage of sorts to Newton-John - this muse comes equipped with an Australian accent.” – Michael Kuchwara, AP

“The lead sister is Klio, who changes her name to Kira, straps on roller skates and adopts an Australian accent to fit in – an obvious poke at Olivia Newton-John. In the part, Kerry Butler has it all – this gifted comedienne captures Newton-John's breathy effervescence in voice and spirit and she is sublime.” – Roma Torre, NY1

“The chief asset of the first musical of the new season has to be Butler, who projects winsome charm, precisely mimics Olivia Newton-John, sings like a musical Olympian and roller skates smartly as the sassy Muse who comes to Earth and wins the heart of a mere mortal.” – Malcolm Johnson, The Hartford Current

“Kerry Butler is a strong but ever-humorous leading lady in the Newton-John role of Clio, the chief muse who assumes the name of Kira - and a dead-on Aussie accent - to work her earthly magic. Butler scores laughs with her carefully studied Aussie locutions, and her clear resemblance to Newton-John. This actress was the best friend Penny Pingleton in the original cast of "Hairspray," and it's fascinating to watch her move from that supporting role to centerstage.”  – Jacques LeSourd, The Journal News

“Kerry Butler, her (Olivia Newton-John) Broadway counterpart and some-time imitator, is a spark plug with a winning gift for both physical and vocal comedy. She whizzes about the stage in legwarmers and roller-skates for most of the show's 90-minute intermission-less running length, pausing only to deliver a winsome look of love or momentarily channel Newton-John's breathy delivery. (Her mangling of the singer's Australian accent is its own delight.) And she can sing for real.” – Simon Houpt, Globe and Mail

"Kerry Butler as the muse Clio (aka Kira) is off the charts, and when he roller skates in the shortest of shorts, it's a sight not soon to be forgotten.c “Butler does a side-splitting take on Olivia Newton-John's earnest yet inept performance in the movie even as she makes the role of Kira own. Her Australian accent is a stitch — the way she pronounces the final word in the phrase “I must go” has got to be heard to be believed — and she displays a sweet singing voice and expert comic timing. Butler was adorable as Penny Pingleton in the original cast of Hairspray and winning as Audrey in the 2003 Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors, but here she shines even more brightly, causing each and every member of the audience to fall hopelessly in love with her.” – Michael Portantiere, AfterElton.com

“All clear tones, beaming good will and feathered blond tresses as Kira, Kerry Butler makes for an adorable heroine.” – Michael Sommers, The Star-Ledger

“Butler is pretty and properly silly as Clio -- often speaking with an Olivia Newton-John-affected Australian accent.” – David Finkle, Theatremania

“Butler, meanwhile, has transitioned from being a promising talent in shows like Hairspray and Little Shop of Horrors into a first-rate physical- and musical-comedy star. Clad in costumer David Zinn’s cotton-candy-colored leggings and affecting an Australian accent that sounds like a drunk Crocodile Dundee, Butler’s a comic scream from heaven—or Mt. Olympia, where Clio/Kira and Sonny meet their fate.” – Leonard Jacobs, New York Press

“The Newton-John role, the Muse Clio, is superbly delivered by Kerry Butler, the original Penny in Hairspray, who zooms sweetly around the stage and neatly punches up a song.” – Howard Shapiro, The Philadelphia Inquirer

WILLIAMSTOWN THEATER FESTIVAL REVIEWS
"That's especially the case for Dedee, played memorably in the film by Christine Ricci and here portrayed in a smashing perf by Butler, who infuses the character with musical comedy energy but doesn't skimp on the toughness." - Frank Rizzo, Variety

"Kerry Butler as brat-faced 16-year-old DeDee gives new depth to “white trash.” Her narration (mirroring the voiceover in the film) doesn’t so much break the fourth wall as blast through it like a renegade rocket. Butler, who did a stint as Belle in Beauty , has a professionally honed voice, to which she adds a stuck-on-herself demeanor and enough sexual swagger to power the stage lights. Her DeDee has never met a boy she wouldn’t bang, a rule she wouldn’t break (from larceny to murder), or an authority figure she couldn’t wind to her selfish purpose. Still, she’s the one to watch and root for here as a latter-day personification of George Bernard Shaw’s Life Force." - Iris Fanger, The Phoenix

"Kerry Butler carries much of the responsibility for this show on her small shoulders and is a big success.  Dedee is a dysfunctional, manipulative brat throughout, but Butler makes us like her in spite of that, and there is never a dull moment when she is on the stage.  She has a powerhouse voice, to boot." - Nancy Grossman, BroadwayWorld.com

SAN FRANCISCO REVIEWS
"All the performers are first rate, but Kerry Butler (Little Shop of Horrors) as Dede is a standout, somehow saving the role of a genuinely dislikable character with her voice, timing and wit. " - Arthur Lazere, CultureVulture.net

"Kerry Butler as Dedee is truly impressive, and she nails this part. She is effective in her disdainfulness, yet when it's time for her character to see the light, the script and Butler's acting make it convincing." - Tiffany Maleshefski, San Francisco Examiner

"As in the movie, "Sex" tells the story of 16-year-old Dedee Truitt (played by Kerry Butler, a young woman whose sense of comic timing is nearly as flawless as her singing voice)"  - Pat Craig, Contra Costa Times