The GAY PLAY SERIES Returns to Ferndale, MI for the 6th Fabulous Year!

The Ringwald Theatre is thrilled to announce the 6th installment of its wildly popular Gay Play Series (GPS) and this year things are getting a remix as The Ringwald replaces its traditional One Act Play festival with a collection of mash-ups which will intertwine a variety of movies and music artists to create The Ringwald's Big Gay Mash-Up (for example: My Fair Lady Gaga). The festival will also include a screening of gay TV classics.

GPS will run for two weekends, June 19th-June 29th, 2014 at The Ringwald Theatre in beautiful downtown Ferndale.

The 2015 GPS will kick off on Friday, June 19 at 8:00 PM with a special screening of A Smattering of Gays (Gay TV Episodes Through the Years). Hand picked by The Ringwald staff, this kick-off event will feature a variety of clips from "very special" (gay) episodes from throughout history and will trace the trajectory of how television evolved on gay storylines. Featuring moments from such favorites as The Golden Girls, My So-Called Life, Soap, Will & Grace (and more!), this event is not to be missed!!

This year instead of GPS's traditional One-Act Festival, The Ringwald will instead be presenting Big Gay Mash-Up Competition featuring groups of actors who will put together an original mash-up musical featuring a plot of a popular film and songs from a particular music artist. Mash-ups will be assigned at The GPS Kick-Off Event after the final performance of 10 Naked Men on Monday, June 8th at The Ringwald Theatre. Actors will then have ten days to write, direct, and choreograph their musicals to be performed Saturdays and Sundays during the Gay Play Series.

The mash-ups will be presented in two blocks with Block A performing at 8pm on Saturday June 20th and 3pm on Sunday June 28th. Block B will perform at 3pm on Sunday, June 21st and 8pm on Saturday, June 27th.

Announcements of the names of the mash-ups as well as the teams involved will be announced on Tuesday, June 9th.

Audience members will be voting for their favorite mash-up, actor and actress. The winning mash-up will receive an additional performance at the closing ceremonies on Monday, June 23 at 8PM. The winning mash-up will also receive a late-night run during the upcoming 2015-2016 Ringwald Season.

Monday, June 23 brings the newest play from Julia Lynn Marsh, Alphabet Soup. Marsh performed during the 2013 Gay Play Series to a full house and critical acclaim with her one-woman show, Please Give Me Your Money So I Can Buy a Vagina. Alphabet Soup is about addiction, cooking, and what it means to help people. It features Julia Lynn Marsh, Meredith Deighton, Dyan Bailey, Miles Bond, and Jonathan West. LGBTQ... is getting a tasty makeover.

Friday, June 26 will feature a world premiere play reading of Two Dead Clowns by Ronnie Larsen, playwright of Ringwald hits Making Porn and 10 Naked Men. Two Dead Clowns is a 2-part play about the lives of serial killer, John Wayne Gacy Jr. famous John Waters actor, Divine. John Wayne Gacy Jr. was executed after being sentenced to death for killing at least 33 people. He buried many of his victims under his house. He also liked to dress up as a clown and perform for children. He was a very complicated man and the play examines his life as well as the lives of his family members and his victims. Divine was also a killer but only on screen. Most of his fame derived from his starring roles in John Water's films as well as his recording career and nightclub appearances. Two Dead Clowns focuses on the last weekend of his life as he was preparing to shoot an episode of Married With Children in Los Angeles. He was to play Uncle Otto and, unlike most of his roles with John Waters, he would not be performing in drag. He died the night before the taping. Two Dead Clowns will feature Joe Bailey in dual roles of Divine and Gacy.

The festival will conclude on Monday, June 29 with the awards ceremony, a repeat performance of the audience-voted mash-up as well as the cabaret closer, David Moan's Big Gay Duets! which will feature a collection of songs featuring emcee David Moan (a favorite from past Ringwald productions Into the Woods and this past year's Evil Dead: The Musical)! This will be an evening sure to be full of humor, romance, and harmony that is not to be missed!

Admission to individual events during this year's GPS will be $10 per event and a $30 Festival Pass (which gets you into all events for both weekends) is 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.

Photo Credit: The Ringwalk Theatre

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