Molly Ringwald Practiced Sweet Charity in Boise

By J. Gelband, 9-11-06

“I swear I saw Molly Ringwald coming in for a massage,” my friend said of spying the red-headed ’80s teen-films actress at a downtown spa. That was the silliest thing I’d heard all week, until I found out that Ringwald was, in fact, in Boise for the last two weeks. The star and her family were here along with the entire cast and crew of the national touring production of “Sweet Charity” for the technical rehearsals.

I went to see the Saturday matinee performance. The show’s director introduced the event and explained that they were originally scheduled to rehearse in Utah, but when they found out Utah bars close at 11 p.m. they opted for Boise State University’s Morrison Center instead. Even though the show was just OK, it is pretty cool they chose to come here for practice.

Ringwald – famous for her work in John Hughes films The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles and Pretty in Pink – stars as the hopeless romantic/dance-hall hostess Charity Hope Valentine in a production that kicks off in San Diego this week.

Casual Ringwald fans, like me, had no idea what happened to the actress since her ubiquitous days as a teen star, but it turns out she was working all along: in France, in New York off-Broadway plays, and in London theater. “Charity” is her first national tour.

It’s a Tony-award winning musical, featuring the popular song “If My Friends Could See Me Now.” Interestingly, if Ringwald’s friends could see her performing, I don’t think they’d be too impressed.

Ringwald had apparently garnered a lot of praise for her past stage work, but all three of the people with whom I went to see the play were kind of aghast at the end.

“She dances like Frankenstein,” one friend said, addressing the most obvious issue.

What’s happening now, according to one friend who cited a recent New York Times article on the current state of the musical, is that the traveling productions of musicals are tanking across the country. In hopes of salvaging the medium, producers are casting big names stars (Christina Applegate played Charity in the previous version) to get audiences in the theaters. That must be the reason Ringwald was cast. Her voice was actually impressive, but she was clearly winded, gasping for breath, after each song and dance routine.

The dances, in fact, were the highlight of the show. The sets were creative and colorful and the wild costumes on all ensemble players made the snappy dance numbers the most engaging moments.

If you didn’t get to see Ringwald, on stage or milling around, during her stay in Boise, you can catch the show in cities around the country. Or you can rent one of those ’80s movies.
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