Ringwald Theatre Kicks Off 2013 Gay Play Series Tonight

The Ringwald Theatre has announced the 4th installment of its wildly popular Gay Play Series (GPS). Last year's outing was attended by hundreds of people over a two weekend period. This year the program will run three consecutive weekends and will feature a two-week run of the past three winning scripts, a serialized staged reading of a beloved classic, a new one-woman show, a brand new cabaret, and performances of 8 new, one act LGBT plays.

GPS will run tonight, June 7th-June 24th, 2013, at The Ringwald Theatre in beautiful downtown Ferndale.

The 2013 GPS will kick off tonight, June 7 at 8:00 PM with a special staged reading of Armistead Maupin's seminal classic, Tales of the City. And, in keeping with its original serialized format, the Tales reading will unfurl over the following two Fridays, June 14 and 21, as well. Presented with a fixed cast and rotating guest stars, Tales of the City is the perfect opening for GPS!

Beginning on Saturday, June 8 will be a celebration of the GPS winning shows of the past three years. The GPS Threesome will feature performances of My Dull Friend by Margaret Edwartowski, A Few Survivors by Jason Sebacher, and Fanny Packs & Hanky Codes by Kristian O'Hare. Director Kathleen Lietz and a cast of 5 (Chris Stepnitz , Alonzo Luzod, Julie Spittle, Christian Lafata, and Vince Kelley) tackle all three past winning shows.

Ringwald Artistic Director Joe Bailey says, "We really wanted a chance to produce these shows in a manner that was different than what audiences may have already seen during the individual competitions. By having one fantastic director and one core cast, we are excited to present these shows anew. And it really is remarkable how different they are from one another; it'll make for a thrilling evening of theatre. It's just a great example of the depth of LGBT playwrights!"

The GPS Threesome will play Saturdays and Mondays at 8PM and Sundays at 3PM for two weekends, June 8-17.

The original One Act Festival will kick into gear on Saturday, June 22 and Sunday, June 23.

This year 142 submissions were received, again from around the world. From those submissions, 8 have been chosen for production. In a break from previous years, the original one acts will be performed in one block.

The 2013 chosen shows and their directors are:

• Threesome by Brian Walker; Directed by Veronica Zahn
• Batperson and Robbie: Cute Meat by Daniel Curzon; Directed by Sean McClellan
• Cake Top This by Donna Hoke; Directed by Heidi Bennett
• The Loose Ends by Mark Harvey Levine; Directed by Joe Plambeck
• Romeo and Jules by Ron Burch; DirecTed Gary Lehman
• Waiting for the Skel by EM Lewis; Directed by Topher Payne
• Justin & Kyle Shop at IKEA by Kent Forsberg; Directed by Dyan Bailey
• Four Dry Tongues by Alex Dremann; Directed by Lisa Melinn

All 8 one acts will be performed on Saturday, June 22 at 8PM and Sunday, June 23 at 3PM.

As always, audience members will be voting for their favorite script. The winning script will receive an additional performance at the closing ceremonies on Monday, June 24 at 8PM. Audience members will also be asked to vote for a favorite actor and director.

On Sunday, June 23 at 7PM, Julia Marsh will preview her new one-woman show, Please Give Me Your Money So I Can Buy A Vagina. Through the use of stand-up comedy and improv, Julia shares her experiences in life, which include searching for a vagina and ultimately finding herself instead.

GPS will come to a close on Monday, June 24 at 8PM. In addition to the encore presentation of the winning script, this year we are proud to present the debut of the 3 Queer Tenors. Comprised of Vince Kelley, Richard Payton, and Jamie Richards, 3 Queer Tenors will combine Broadway, Pop and a dash of cattiness in their debut cabaret. The program will be an evening of music both popular and obscure with songs from Detroit to the Big Apple and hopefully a few laughs along the way.

Admission to individual events during this year's GPS will be $10 per event. A $20 City Pass will be available to see all three evenings of Tales of the City (saving you $10 to see all three parts). A $30 Threeway Pass (which gets you into all events all 3 weekends) will also be available.

Tickets can be purchased at www.TheRingwald.com or at the theatre box office. The Ringwald box office opens 45 minutes before performances and tickets can be purchased with cash or Visa/Mastercard. The Ringwald Theatre is located at 22742 Woodward Avenue in the Times Square of downtown Ferndale.

2013 GPS Calendar of Events:

Friday, June 7, 8PM: Opening Ceremonies, Tales of the City, Part 1 $10

Saturday, June 8, 8PM: GPS Threesome Performance $10

Sunday, June 9, 3PM: GPS Threesome Performance $10

Monday, June 10, 8PM: GPS Threesome Performance $10

Friday, June 14, 8PM: Tales of the City, Part 2 $10

Saturday, June 15, 8PM: GPS Threesome Performance $10

Sunday, June 16, 3PM: GPS Threesome Performance $10

Monday, June 17, 8PM: GPS Threesome Performance $10

Friday, June 21,8PM: Tales of the City, Part 3 $10

Saturday, June 22, 8PM: 2013 Original One Act Plays $10

Sunday, June 23, 3PM: 2013 Original One Act Plays $10

Sunday, June 23, 7PM: Please Give Me Your Money $10

So I Can Buy A Vagina

Monday, June 24, 8PM: Encore Performance of Winning One Act; $10

3 Queer Tenors Cabaret

The Ringwald opened their doors six years ago on May 11, 2007 with Fatal Attraction: A Greek Tragedy and quickly became a mainstay of Detroit's theatre community. Past Productions include: Making Porn, The Homosexuals, The Facts of Life: The Lost Episode, The Bad Seed, Love! Valour! Compassion!,The Book of Liz, Rent, and Thank You for Being a Friend. The Ringwald was named 2009 and 2012 Best Theatrical Troupe by Real Detroit and Best Place to See Local Theatre for 2010-2012 by the readers of Metro Times.