By Kristi Casey Sanders
Invariably the first thing people think of when they think “Molly Ringwald” is the trio of suburban teen movies she made in the 1980s (Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles), but Ringwald brings a different kind of talent to the Fox stage this month with her portrayal of the tap-dancing taxi dancer Charity Hope Valentine. Encore Atlanta spoke with her about Sweet Charity, touring the country with family in tow, and what she hopes will come next.
How did you get involved with the Sweet Charity tour?
They offered it to me! (she laughs) Actually, it was just something that I really wanted to do. I had a pretty long run in Cabaret [on Broadway] and when people would ask what I wanted to do next, I would say, “Sweet Charity. ” But I think when they were getting it ready for Broadway, I was pregnant with Mathilda, or I had just given birth and I was in no way, shape or form to do it. And then, they offered me the role to take over for Christina [Applegate] when she left the show, but I had already done that with Cabaret . … I wanted to do my own thing, create something new. Doing a tour seemed kind of adventurous.
How is taking over a role during a Broadway run different from taking over the role for the touring version?
Whenever you step right into someone’s role, theoretically you can do your own thing, but it’s kind of hard because you usually only have a week or two to prepare, and the entire cast and crew are used to one thing. There’s more pressure to adjust … to conform rather than to re-choreograph, which is what you do on tour.
How old is your daughter now?
Mathilda is three. She’s on tour with me.
And this is your first tour. What is it like touring the country with a small child?
While most of the cast is visiting every bar and club in every town we go to, I’m visiting every children’s museum. It’s an amazing lot of fun for her. My husband is with us, and her nanny, so it’s not just me. … I think touring is very different when you don’t have a family with you. People go crazy — everything is “Party!” You know, it’s like summer camp, they’re sharing the same room. … On the whole, it’s fun, it’s an adventure, but it’s sometimes exhausting.
What is Sweet Charity about?
It’s about a character named Charity Hope Valentine. She’s a dancehall hostess and she wants to get out of there and find something better, so she leaves the dancehall to get some culture, and she goes to the YMCA to take culture classes. (she laughs) And it’s about who she meets along the way and her quest for Mr. Right. As she says at one point in the play, love is her religion. She’s the unluckiest romantic in New York.
Do you see any similarities between yourself and Charity?
I don’t know how she’s similar to me. She has everything on her sleeve. She’s incredibly open and guileless and a little bit naïve. I think I’m very different, but that’s what makes her fun to play. It’s not interesting to play characters just like you.
What’s your favorite part of the show?
I really love the “If They Could See Me Now” number. She finds herself in this movie star’s apartment and she feels like she’s hit the big time, like she’s really made it. So she asks him for this piece of his apparel so her friends will believe her, and he gives me this hat. So I do this dance with a top hat.
Sweet Charity originally was choreographed for Gwen Verdon. You have a background in dance, but was it challenging stepping into such a dance-intensive role?
I did a lot of dance when I was young and then I kind of gave it up. I started learning the choreography for this months in advance, and I started working out — doing a lot of stamina training. Singing and dancing is not an easy thing to do. So I would work out on the treadmill while singing. But no matter how much people tell you it’s hard and you need to build up your stamina, you don’t realize how much you really need to until you do it … I think I’m just hitting my stride now.
Does Mathilda watch the show often?
She has seen the show and we gave her a lot of prep — that she had to be quiet [ etc.] And she was great. She stayed in her little seat and watched everything, and was shushing people. But most of the time she is backstage, listening to the show on the intercom.
You’ve had an incredibly diverse career, beginning with stage work as a child — you’ve been prolific on stage, TV and screen both here and in France. Does it bother you that most people still connect you with the movies you made with John Hughes? That they know you as that girl from Sixteen Candles?
I get tired of talking about Sixteen Candles. I’m proud of it; I’m glad I did it, but I don’t really think about it.
So what’s next for you?
I’d like to spend more time writing, possibly directing something, probably a film. I’d like to do another movie in French, although I’d have to brush up on my French. I lived there off and on for about 10 years. I continued to work the whole time I was in France; working was still my main focus, but my life in France is so much more anonymous because I’m not as [famous] there. I love the food and being able to walk everywhere, and everywhere you look you see something beautiful. I think being surrounded by that much beauty really does something good to your soul, or at least it does something good to my soul.
What advice would you give your daughter if she wanted to follow in your footsteps?
I think I really want her to take an interest in school and learn as much as she can. I think that would make her a more interesting actress. It’s a hard business, and I’d want her to prepare as much as possible. I’m kind of hoping she doesn’t want to be an actress; that she’ll want to stay in school. But she can really be anything – I’m going to try and let her decide.
Sweet Charity plays The Fabulous Fox Theatre March 20-25.
