Putting on a show is never an easy process, at least I would assume so. As a director, you spend months finding people from all areas of theater to help build your vision on stage, and as a cast member, you spend just as much time learning your lines and songs, depending on whether it’s a musical or play. It takes vast amounts of time and energy to bring a show to life before an audience, which is exhausting and incredibly rewarding. This weekend at The Ringwald Theatre located inside of The Affirmations building in Ferndale, MI, director (and star) Joe Bailey is looking to change that marathon into a sprint with the Ringwald Reprise: Applause, the first show of its kind at the theater!
Being described as a staged concert version of the 1970 Tony Award-Winning musical, which in turn is based on the film All About Eve, Applause is looking to charm the audience once again! In this interview, Joe Bailey discusses why now felt like the right time to bring this frequently overlooked musical to The Ringwald, what it’s like to be both a cast member and the director of the show, how it takes a village to bring a musical to life, and where he sees this staged concert series going in the future. Bailey also talks about the challenges of only having a week of rehearsals, and how an intimate theatre such as The Ringwald lends itself well to better audience interaction. Enjoy!
Timestamps for this interview:
- 00:00 – Intro
- 00:32 – How the process and prep is going for Applause at The Ringwald Theatre
- 01:13 – About Applause the Musical
- 02:31 – Applause is the first stage concert for The Ringwald, why did you pick this show?
- 03:55 – Margo Channing and All About Eve
- 04:25 – Transitioning this show from musical to stage concert
- 05;37 – Doing double duty as both cast and director
- 07:17 – The casting process for this show.
- 08:48 – Challenges to this production and learning from new experiences
- 10:45 – All About Eve is mentioned as being “very gay”, how did this show keep in spirit with that?
- 12:15 – As a director, how did it feel to see your vision come alive?
- 13:38 – Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors at the Ringwald was an intimate, interactive experience, will Applause be interactive as well?
- 15:52 – What other musicals do you have in mind, or would you like to stage as a concert?
- 16:43 – Three words to describe Applause
- 18:00 – Outros
Catch Applause at The Ringwald Theatre before it’s gone!
If you’re looking for something fun to do in the Ferndale, Michigan area this weekend, be sure to grab your tickets from Ringwald Reprise: Applause, as it only runs for four shows! Let us know what you think of this interview and if you go see the show on social media @mycosmiccircus or @boxseatbabes!
Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors is Bloody Good Fun!
