WASHINGTON — She was arguably the most beloved of the “Brat Pack” stable, stealing the show in numerous John Hughes teen comedies from “Sixteen Candles” (1984) to “The Breakfast Club” (1985) to “Pretty in Pink” (1986).
But Molly Ringwald’s first love wasn’t the movies.
It was jazz music, which she will croon at 8 p.m. Friday at AMP by Strathmore in Bethesda.
“I was a singer before I was an actress. My father, Bob Ringwald, was a traditional jazz musician, so I grew up singing jazz actually from the time I was three … I was going to be a singer when I grew up, and then I got a little distracted by the acting. It took me a while to get back to the music, but it’s something that I’ve really wanted to do for a while. It’s in my blood,” Ringwald tells WTOP.
Indeed, her father understood the power of music in a unique way. As a blind jazz pianist, it was the sound of smooth jazz that spoke to his soul. Thus, he exposed young Molly to all the old greats.
“I grew up listening to really traditional Louis Armstrong and Bix Beiderbecke, all these really old-timey jazz musicians. The music that I like is the great American songbook, and I feel like it’s one of our national treasures. The music is so interesting and so witty. There’s just nothing like it,” she says.
So what can we expect to hear Friday at AMP?
“Some of the stuff I do is from my album, called ‘Except Sometimes,’ but we’re putting a lot of new stuff in the set list … One of the things I love about jazz is that it’s different every night … Unlike film or TV, it’s one of those situations where the audience, in a way, informs what I do,” Ringwald says.
Ringwald has been touring with her jazz quarter since 2013. Her band includes Peter Smith on piano, Trevor Ware on bass and Clayton Cameron on drums. But they have to be quick on their feet.
“I’m sort of pathological about not being able to stick to a set list … much to the chagrin of my musicians. We had to put the songbooks in alphabetical order so they could flip through really quickly,” Ringwald says, laughing at her own musical spontaneity.
One song you’re likely to hear is her jazz cover of “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds, which entered all our hearts for its place on the soundtrack of “The Breakfast Club” (1985).
“When I was coming up with the set list for my album, John Hughes passed away. It was a big shock to me and everyone around the world. I think he was pretty beloved. And I thought it would really be interesting to do it as a jazz ballad, so I worked with Peter and we found these nice, beautiful chords to go behind it. I wanted to put it on as a tribute to him and also for the people who primarily know me as an actress. I thought it would be a nice bridge to the music I’m doing now,” Ringwald says.
No doubt many of her jazz audience members show up because of their fondness of her movies, and that’s just fine with Ringwald. She understands the cultural impact of her films, namely “The Breakfast Club,” where she questioned clique stereotypes playing the “Princess” to Emilio Estevez’s “Athlete,” Anthony Michael Hall’s “Brain,” Judd Nelson’s “Criminal” and Ally Sheedy’s “Basket Case.”
“There were not that many movies that really took teenagers seriously. Most of the so-called teen movies before we did ‘The Breakfast Club’ were sort of these almost sexploitation movies or really broad comedies like ‘Porkys’ or ‘Animal House’ … This was really the first time that it took teenagers really seriously, it was from their points of view … Until somebody makes a movie that’s as good as that about teenagers, I think it’s just going to keep speaking to multiple generations,” she says.
Ringwald thinks “The Breakfast Club” will resonate as long as teenagers go to high school.
“Everybody has to be a teenager at some point, everybody has to go through high school, everybody has to go through that period of time where they feel like nobody understands them. So it just sort of hits the spot. Also, because it only takes place in one day, it manages to seem a lot less dated than other movies. We only have one costume, but the clothes really haven’t changed that much. I see kids at my daughter’s school and they’re pretty much wearing what Allison wore or what Claire wore.”
Speaking of Allison and Claire, does she keep in touch with any of her Brat Pack co-stars?
“I see them from time to time. Like I went to South by Southwest when we celebrated the 30th year and I got to hang out with Ally Sheedy, who I love. All of them, I don’t get to see them that often, but whenever I do, I feel like even though it was just three months of our lives that we spent making the movie, I feel like we’re sort of inextricably linked because it had such a profound effect on us.”
They’re all also inextricably linked to their on-screen creator, John Hughes, who not only wrote and directed “Sixteen Candles” (1984), “Weird Science” (1985), “The Breakfast Club” (1985), “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” (1986), “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” (1987) and “Uncle Buck” (1989), but also penned the scripts for “National Lampoon’s Vacation” (1983), “Pretty in Pink” (1986), “Some Kind of Wonderful” (1987), “Christmas Vacation” (1989), “Home Alone” (1990) and “Beethoven” (1992).
Despite being absolutely beloved by mainstream audiences, these films were never in awards conversations, and Hughes tragically never received a single Oscar or Golden Globe nomination.
“I don’t think that he really got the respect that he should have intellectually, but I don’t really think that he seeked (sic) it out especially … He really had sort of a unique point of view. But they’re really good. Even though he didn’t make as many movies as I wish he would have, especially the ones he directed, they stand the test of time … As time goes on, I think he’ll get even more honors,” she says.
We’re already starting to see highbrow praise for Hughes films that were once deemed lowbrow gems. Just this past Thanksgiving, the prestigious Kennedy Center celebrated the 25th anniversary of Hughes’ “Home Alone” (1990) by screening the film with live accompaniment by the National Symphony Orchestra. Ringwald thinks this thawing will only continue as time goes on.
“You really hit the nail on the head when you said sort of highbrow and lowbrow, because he really does sort of cross these divides with generations and with multiple ethnicities. Everybody loves John Hughes movies. It’s pretty remarkable. It continues to astound me,” Ringwald says.
Likewise, Ringwald continues to astonish us, branching out from acting to singing.
But like her late master Hughes, acclaim isn’t Ringwald’s driving motive.
She just wants us to have a good time.
“It’s something that I really enjoy, and I think that if you enjoy something that much, I think other people are bound to enjoy it, too. Every musician that I perform with is really great. We just have a really great time together, and the feedback I most often get when people come to the show is that they just have a really good time,” Ringwald says. “If you wanna feel good, come to the show.”
Click here for ticket information. Listen to the full interview with Molly Ringwald below:
