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Optimistic role a stretch for Ringwald |
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Written by Martin F. Kohn, McClatchy-Tribune
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Friday, 04 May 2007 |
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 She may still look pretty in pink, but it's been 23 years since Molly Ringwald had to blow out just 16 candles on a birthday cake. Everybody grows up, if they're lucky, and that includes teenage movie stars.
At 39, Ringwald is starring in a tour of the musical "Sweet Charity," which began a Detroit run Tuesday. She is happy to be here, and happy to have been where she was.
She isn't the only one who's pleased. "The producers," she says, "are very happy to have someone in it that's very well known - and if they know what they're doing, so much the better."
Ringwald is certainly well known, thanks to a string of hit movies: "Sixteen Candles" (1984), "The Breakfast Club" (1985) and "Pretty in Pink" (1986). The movies were so popular that Ringwald made the cover of Time magazine in 1986, and have proved so enduring that last year she was named No. 1 on VH1's "100 Greatest Teen Stars," beating out Rob Lowe (No. 2) and Britney Spears (No. 3).
"I'm pretty identified with those movies that I did. They're so popular, and they just run all the time," she says.
"They've kind of been passed down through generations. I'm OK with that. I'm proud of the movies I did."
As for knowing what she's doing in a musical, "I started out as a singer," Ringwald points out. Her father, a pianist, had her recording at age 6. "I primarily sang jazz from the time I was very little. I also really liked musical theater." At 10, she landed a part in a national tour of "Annie." She spent 15 months in the show. "Then you get too tall," she says.
Ringwald continues to act in movies and on TV, but she has also returned to the stage. In 2001, she made her Broadway debut in the revival of "Cabaret" as a replacement Sally Bowles. She also had a role in a straight play on Broadway, "Enchanted April," in 2003, and in a 2004 off-Broadway play, "Modern Orthodox."
The character she plays in "Sweet Charity," Charity Hope Valentine, is pretty much what her name implies. "She's just so likable. She's an incredible optimist; nothing gets her down."
Ringwald is a big fan of "Nights of Cabiria," the poignant 1957 Fellini movie upon which "Sweet Charity" is based. "I really try to keep as much of the essence of that character as I can."
"Sweet Charity" is much lighter than "Nights of Cabiria." "It was adapted by Neil Simon and there are so many one-liners. It's really a Broadway play, and you can go too far " going for laughs, Ringwald says. She aspires to keep Charity " as real and relatable as possible."
It's a bit of stretch. "I would say we're pretty different. I'm not an unlucky romantic. ... She believes in people and believes in love and steadfastly refuses to change," despite setback after setback. "Admirable," Ringwald says, "but very different."
The show, with music by Cy Coleman and lyrics by Dorothy Fields, gave us a couple of memorable songs: "Big Spender" and "If My Friends Could See Me Now." The original 1966 production ran for 18 months.
The current tour is nine months, running into August, but Ringwald is cutting out in mid-June. "I'm taking a long vacation," she says, first to Italy's Amalfi Coast, then to Greece.
It should be an easy trip. Thanks to "Sweet Charity," Ringwald says, "I got very good at packing and unpacking." | Only registered users can write comments.
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