What was it like to work with the New Wave legend Godard?
"It was pretty amazing," Ringwald said. "It was one of the highlights. It was such an insane kind of experience."
Ringwald has been trying to develop a sequel to Sixteen Candles in which she would play the mother. Of all her movies, she thinks The Breakfast Club would be best adapted for theater since all the action takes place in a high school detention hall. "It's practically a stage show as it is," she said.
It seems slightly amazing for someone to have a resume that ranges from teen hits to brainy, avant-garde projects such as The Tempest and King Lear to a musical comedy like Sweet Charity. Ringwald suggests as much in musing about what might come after the current tour.
"Well, after having done Charity , I think I'll be ready to do some Chekhov or something very, very serious."
A history of 'Charity'
Molly Ringwald has some tough acts to follow as the star of Sweet Charity. The legendary Broadway hoofer Gwen Verdon was the first Charity Hope Valentine in 1966, putting her indelible stamp on the choreography of her husband, and the musical's director, Bob Fosse.
Many great dancers portrayed the dance hall hostess who is the "bravest individual," from Juliet Prowse to Debbie Allen to Ann Reinking. Shirley MacLaine played Charity in the 1969 film.
Christina Applegate brought Sweet Charity to a new generation in the 2005 revival, directed by Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Wayne Cilento. That production, which spawned the current tour, had some drama when its closing was announced after Applegate broke her foot during a preview in Chicago. After recovering she persuaded producers to let the show go on and rejoined the cast, and it had a modest run on Broadway.
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