Bad Seed Review-I can't wait to see it

Hi there Who Wants Cake? fans and friends!!

The Bad Seed is currently playing to audiences rolling on the floor in Ferndale's tiny Ringwald Theatre! Check out Don Calamia's awesome review from this week's Between The Lines and make your reservations today for the hottest ticket in town!!

Tickets for The Bad Seed are $15.00 for 8PM Friday and Saturday performances, $15.00 for Sunday matinees at 3PM and Monday 8PM performances are only $10.00 a ticket. The first Sunday performance on February 22nd at 3PM will be Pay-What-You-Can. Reservations may be made by phone at 248-545-5545 or online at www.WhoWantsCakeTheatre.com. The box office opens 45 minutes before performances.


A basket of campy delights at The Ringwald
By Donald V. Calamia
from Between The Lines, Feb 25, 2009

There's a line in the first act of The Bad Seed at Ferndale's Ringwald Theatre that pretty much sums up the entire production. Trying to ferret out the truth behind her eight-year-old son's sudden, bizarre death while on a school picnic, a tipsy Mrs. Daigle confronts the mother of the last child to see her son alive. "There's something funny about the whole thing," she barks. And there is - from start to finish - despite the fact that Maxwell Anderson's 1954 long-running horror/thriller wasn't meant to be humorous. But in the hands of director Joe Bailey and his fine cast, the disturbing story of a manipulative and psychopathic young murderer has been transformed into a campy, gender-bent and laugh-filled night of theater that's not to be missed.

The bulk of Anderson's script remains intact. Christine Penmark (Jamie Warrow) becomes alarmed when her smart, precocious and seemingly perfect eight-year-old girl shows no remorse over the shocking demise of her classmate, Claude Daigle. But when Christine discovers a missing (but coveted) award Claude recently won among daughter Rhoda's (Joe Plambeck) belongings, she becomes alarmed. Her suspicions are confirmed when she catches Rhoda attempting to destroy the evidence of her crime, which leads to yet ANOTHER murder - that of maintenance man Leroy (Jon Ager), who goes up in flames after figuring out Rhoda's secret. But who's REALLY to blame for Rhoda's crime spree - and what do Christine's strange dreams have to do with the answer?

Although audiences were chilled by Anderson's psychoanalytic drama, director Bailey and his actors have great fun with it - especially with the language, which Anderson would never dream of using back in the squeaky-clean, anti-commie days of the 1950s. But the updated, spicy dialog work well here - and often to great effect.

However, placing the story in the mid-70s rather than its original time frame adds little - except to make us realize just how tacky some of our clothes really were back then.

The production's greatest asset, however, is Bailey's strong cast.

Seven performers, most of them familiar faces to Ringwald regulars, play 10 roles. Those that double - Ager, Christa Coulter and Dan Morrison - do so with total clarity. Coulter is especially notable, as many in the Saturday night audience didn't realize until they checked the program that she appears as both Rhoda's military daddy Kenneth and her prissy teacher, Miss Fern.

As upstairs neighbor Monica Breedlove, Melissa Beckwith strongly evokes Anne Francis of TV's Honey West - albeit older, wider-bottomed and a facial mole that's switched sides.

Warrow, meanwhile, plays Christine as the sanest of the bunch - which isn't easy, given the insanity that surrounds her.

But it's two Wilde Award-winning actors who thoroughly dominate the stage.

Ensconced in a pink, frilly dress and blond pigtails, innocent-faced Plambeck dwarfs much of the cast as the young murderess - and both his size and enormous comedic skills are put to great use throughout the show. (Director Bailey plays up the physical dichotomies quite well.) Plambeck is quicker-than-light at changing emotions and direction, and his talent for diabolically telegraphing his character's inner thoughts is especially well utilized. This could possibly be Plambeck's best stage work yet!

But even Plambeck's excellence is briefly overshadowed by two appearances by Laurel Hufano as Mrs. Daigle.

Hufano knows how to make truly memorable entrances and exits, and she proves it twice in The Bad Seed. With a personality reminiscent of Hermione Baddeley of Disney and Maude fame, Hufano storms the stage in a colorful house frock and runny make-up, and - with curlers and hairnet askew - spews drunken venom and common sense with equal fervor. (Plus, belches, retches and farts.) It's a physically demanding role, capped by a tackle-and-roll romp with Plambeck that left the audience gasping for air on opening night.

That moment alone is worth the price of admission!


Who Wants Cake? Theatre
@ The Ringwald
22742 Woodward Ave.
Ferndale, MI
248-545-5545

www.WhoWantsCakeTheatre.com