Joe Plambeck News

The Ringwald Theatre has announced their return to live theatre AND their return to Ferndale! After a long, long intermission, the ragtag group of innovative, campy, and just plain talented folx at The Ringwald will pick up their decade and a half of making theatre in Ferndale and continue-albeit in a new location.

Learn more about the season which consists of Puffs, A Very Golden Girls Christmas, Small Mouth Sounds, Bootcandy, and Ruthless!

Theatre NOVA, in collaboration with The Ringwald Theatre, will release their filmed version of 'A New Brain' by William Finn and James Lapine via Broadway on Demand during June of 2021. By the Tony Award-winning authors of 'Falsettos,' 'A New Brain' is a life-affirming, heartfelt, often comical musical about a composer during a medical emergency.

The Ringwald Theatre has announced the release of their new Christmas show, Have Yourself a MISERY Little Christmas. This is the final production performed in their former Ferndale location and will be available to stream December 4-31, 2020.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the arts community, The Ringwald Theatre has announced that they will not be renewing the lease on their performing space and will vacate by the end of November. The theatre has occupied that space for the past 14 years, but has been closed since March due to the pandemic.

In response to the COVID-19 crisis and the mandatory temporary shuttering of its space, The Ringwald Theatre has taken its gifts to the streaming world with a new program: Camp Ringwald presents Summer Shorts. The Summer Shorts program will allow the theatre to maintain a revenue stream while also keeping engaged with their audience.

In response to the COVID-19 crisis and the mandatory temporary shuttering of its space, The Ringwald Theatre takes its gifts to the streaming world with a new summer program: Camp Ringwald presents Summer Shorts. Throughout the summer, a series of short films will be created with access available online. The Summer Shorts program will allow the theatre to maintain a revenue stream while also keeping engaged with their audience.

The Michigan premiere of Dance Nation is currently running until March 16th at The Ringwald. Clare Barron's play was a 2019 Pulitzer Prize finalist and, also, won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and the Relentless Award (in a tie with Sarah DeLappe's The Wolves.) After successful runs at Playwrights Horizons in New York and at Chicago's famed Steppenwolf Theatre, The Ringwald is proudly presenting the Michigan premiere of Barron's play. Dance Nation is an almost indescribable play - it's honestly one you have to see to believe, but that's half the fun in it. Plus, having Dance Nation in the hands of The Ringwald - it couldn't be in more capable of hands - it's the perfect theatre for the Michigan premiere of this play.

Somewhere in America, an army of pre-teen competitive dancers plots to take over the world.

Bright Colors and Bold Patterns is a riotous new solo play by comic and improvisor Drew Droege that storms the stage with ferocity and wit, deemed 'hilarious' and 'uproarious' by The New Yorker, 'fantastic' and 'pure magic' by Time Out New York, and 'side-splitting' and 'fresh' from The Huffington Post. It had a tremendous 6 month Off-Broadway run, being extended numerous times after being a 'Critics Pick' for both Time Out New York and The New York Times.

Opening November 22nd, 2019 at The Ringwald Theatre in Ferndale, A Very Golden Girls Christmas: An Unauthorized Parody is a delightful mash-up of some of your favorite episodes of the beloved sit-com. This holiday, spend an evening with Rose, Blanche, Sophia, and Dorothy!

Cheryl Strayed, author of the Oprah-sanctioned book Wild (later turned into an Oscar nominated film starring Reese Witherspoon), spent some time as an online advice columnist known as Sugar. During her tenure, Dear Sugar became a must-read site, known for dispensing advice with grace, humor, and a deep, deep empathy for the advice-seekers. After her time as a?oeDear Sugara?? ended, Strayed turned her experiences into the best-selling book, Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar.

Ferndale's The Ringwald Theatre kicks off its 13th Season a bit earlier than usual with Disney's High School Musical. Starting performances August 23rd will allow folks of all ages the chance to soak up some high school fun before classes actually start in September! 

Opening July 12, 2019 at The Ringwald Theatre in Ferndale, Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical tells the famous rags-to-riches story in an hilariously new way!

The regional premiere of Head Over Heels rocked The Ringwald from May 13 through June 10.

Tipping Point Theatre's upcoming production, Funnyman by Bruce Graham, takes a serious look behind the scenes of a celebrated comic's life. It's 1959, and Chick Sherman's funnyman career is beginning its decline into irrelevancy. That all changes when an experimental playwright specifically requests his talents, teaching Chick that not everything in life has to have a punchline.

Run, don't walk to The Ringwald to see their production of Head Over Heels! The production is the first one since the hot Broadway debut of the show that features songs of the 80s music icons, The Go-Gos, closed in January and will be at the beloved Michigan theatre until June 10th in Ferndale. The hilarious and inclusive musical celebrates love in its infinite varieties and includes iconic Go-Go's hits like 'We Got the Beat,' 'Our Lips Are Sealed,' and 'Vacation,' plus Belinda Carlisle's 'Heaven is a Place on Earth' and 'Mad About You,' and many more! It's the perfect show for The Ringwald's stage and the company does it marvelously. From the fantastic performances to the glorious costumes to the boppin' beat - The Ringwald's, Head Over Heels has it - and it should not be missed!

The Ringwald is absolutely thrilled to present the first production of Head Over Heels, running May 13th through June 10th, after its hot Broadway debut that features the songs of 80s music icons, The Go-Go's. The show was named one of Entertainment Weekly's Top 10 Stage Picks of 2018 and recently closed this January to the heartache of beloved fans. 'Head Over Heels combines The Go-Go's music with a gender-queer sensibility that everyone from 16-60+ will fall in love with,' said Joe Bailey, the director. 'It's energetic, funny, breezy and the perfect spring musical!' The hilarious and inclusive musical celebrates love in its infinite varieties and includes iconic Go-Go's hits like 'We Got the Beat,' 'Our Lips Are Sealed,' and 'Vacation,' plus Belinda Carlisle's 'Heaven is a Place on Earth' and 'Mad About You,' and many more! The show is based on The Arcadia by Sir Philip Sidney and Head Over Heels was conceived by Jeff Whitty and adapted by James Magruder. A modern musical fairytale where once-upon-a-time is right now, Head Over Heels follows the escapades of a royal family who set out on a journey to save their beloved kingdom from extinction only to find love and comedic complications along the way! BroadwayWorld Detroit spoke with Joe about directing Head Over Heels and why The Ringwald is so excited to be the first theatre to present the show since it closed on Broadway. Read our fun interview below!

Hot off its Broadway run, Head Over Heels-featuring the songs of 80s music icons The Go-Go's-will rock The Ringwald from May 10 to June 10. The Ringwald presents the first production of this smashing show after its Broadway debut.

Opening March 29 at The Ringwald, The House by Michigan native, Brian Parks, is a hilarious take on good manners going bad.