FERNDALE -
The Ringwald Theatre is pleased to announce the fourth installment of its wildly popular Gay Play Series. 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 eight new, one-act LGBT plays.
GPS will run June 7-24 at The Ringwald Theatre in beautiful downtown Ferndale.
The 2013 GPS will kick off on Friday, June 7 at 8 p.m. 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 actors 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 theater. It's just a great example of the depth of LGBT playwrights!"
The GPS Threesome will play Saturdays and Mondays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. 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, eight 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 eight one-acts will be performed on Saturday, June 22 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, June 23 at 3 p.m.
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 8 p.m. Audience members will also be asked to vote for a favorite actor and director.
On Sunday, June 23 at 7 p.m., 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 8 p.m. In addition to the encore presentation of the winning script, this year GPS is 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 three weekends) will also be available.
Tickets can be purchased at http://www.TheRingwald.com" or at the theater box office. The Ringwald box office opens 45 minutes before performances; 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.
