Ringwald Theatre celebrates holidays with ‘Steel Magnolias’ parody

FERNDALE — The Ringwald Theatre has kicked off another series of shows, this time honoring a film beloved by the LGBTQ+ community.

The Ringwald’s production of “Steel Poinsettias” began on Dec. 5 and will continue to run until Dec. 21. The show is an unauthorized parody sequel to “Steel Magnolias.”

Quinn Jacob plays Shelby, which is not the same character portrayed by Julia Roberts in the film adaptation, but the child birthed at the end of the movie by Daryl Hannah’s character, Annelle.

“I have never really worked on source material like this,” Jacob said. “I’ve never really done kind of like a parody sort of show. It’s been really cool getting to find the connections between the movie and the stage version of “Steel Magnolias.” … It’s been very cool to see the connections between the old source material and kind of the new script that Vince (Kelley) has put together because of his love for ‘Steel Magnolias.’”

Co-director with writer Vince Kelley, Brandy Joe Plambeck said “Steel Magnolias” is an iconic gay classic film and was something they felt was ripe to parody for a holiday production.

“I’m really proud of it,” he said. “It has a lot of heart in it as well. It is the holidays, and I think that humor plus heart is something that people really love the combination of those two things. So, I appreciate and very much enjoy that our show does that. And it is fun to be in drag and to work with a lot of the folks that we have worked with before in similar fashions. So, it’s been a lot of fun and now we just need an audience, because you never know something’s really funny until you get butts in the seats, and then you see.”

Jacob has acted in a number of shows from Plambeck and Joe Bailey, but this only is the second show she’s performed in at The Ringwald.

The actress from St. Clair Shores believes anyone who attends the show will love the vibe of it all.

“It is so much like the vibe of the movie,” she said. “It’s warm, it is comforting, it’s got the Southern charm. At its core, it’s still just a story of all these women who come together, and all of this adversity, and in all the stages of their life, they’re there for each other. And I think that really shines through in this play version.”

“It’s just a really exciting show,” she continued. “I think that the plot lines are really fun. I think that it being Christmastime just adds a little extra something to it all. I think the people are really going to enjoy it.”

The theater is located inside the Affirmations LGBTQ+ Community Center, 290 W. Nine Mile Road. Performances will take place at 7 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays, and 3 p.m. on Sundays.

Tickets for “Steel Poinsettias” cost $25 for shows Friday through Sunday and $15 for Monday shows, and they are available at theringwald.com.