She can remember lots of things

“I’ve done movies that have been incredibly successful, and I’m most associated with those,” says actress Molly Ringwald, quite unnecessarily, in a recent interview with Xpress.

Don’t you forget about her: Molly Ringwald in Sweet Charity.

If you were busy colonizing another planet in the ‘80s, you should know that she’s referring to the John Hughes teen-angst trilogy Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink—movies that defined a generation of freaks, geeks, jocks and would-be prom queens and cemented Ringwald as the pouty sovereign of all things Brat Pack. So much so that, 20 years later, she announces that “it doesn’t matter” what she’s done since then—people still want Molly as Sam, Molly as Claire, Molly as Andie.

But she’s making significant strides toward changing perceptions with her lead role in the current nationally touring musical Sweet Charity.

On the road for nine months with Charity, Ringwald says her top concern is her preschool-aged daughter, Mathilda, who tours with her. “I thought about the tour and whether it was going to be possible. It was a decision we had to make as a family,” says Ringwald. “There’s no other way that I could do it. The amount of stress I’d go through [being separated from her] is just unthinkable. They grow up so fast—she needs to be around her mommy and her daddy” (writer/editor Panio Gianopoulos).”

But this isn’t the first time Ringwald has taken the stage. In fact, her first break, at age 10, was playing Kate in the musical Annie. Later, in the ‘90s, the actress abandoned her teen-queen roles in U.S. movies to live in France for four years, where she performed in French-language films before moving on to the London stage. When she relocated to New York, theater just made sense.

“In New York City there’s so much great theater available to see and to do, I just found myself getting into all these great different plays and I enjoyed it,” Ringwald tells Xpress. “I’ve been doing a lot of theater for the past 10 years or so anyway. It’s something I just do.”

But she knows her audience is often surprised to find her in something other than a patched-up pink prom dress, awaiting a kiss from Andrew McCarthy. Fans might also marvel at her grown-up self-confidence, a far cry from the charmingly self-deprecating persona she put forth in Hughes’ films. (Even for Breakfast Club‘s snotty Claire, Ringwald couldn’t shed her abashed lip-biting and halting California drawl.)

When fans find she can do theater, “I think it’s a good surprise,” Ringwald says. “Because I’m good at it.”

Charity, set in the 1960s, is the fluffy tale of taxi dancer Charity Hope Valentine, who longs to break free from her life in a seedy dime-a-dance club. A romantic at heart (with that name, could she be anything less?), Charity is determined to find Mr. Right—if only she could stop looking in all the wrong places. The musical was originally adapted from the Fellini film Nights of Cabiria by choreographer Bob Fosse, who envisioned the lead role for his wife. Over the years, Charity has been played by Shirley MacLaine, Debbie Allen and Christina Applegate.

“I think if a movie’s really great, they should just leave it; they shouldn’t keep remaking every great movie,” says Ringwald. “[But] theater is different. Theater is meant to be performed again and again. And it’s meant to be revived, because theater itself is ephemeral.”

Seemingly trying to forget the fame-making teen roles that may or may not have stymied her adult success, Ringwald says she doesn’t feel pressured to play the role of Charity “the same or better than anybody else. It’s just a new interpretation. … I just try to make [Charity] as relatable as possible, because she is such a broad character. She’s this iconic role.”

Talking iconic inevitably leads to the intriguing rumors of a Sixteen Candles sequel. Despite that Xpress was warned about Ringwald’s distaste for ‘80s reminiscing, we had to ask.

“I would be interested in it,” she says—another surprise. “I don’t mind being associated with John Hughes—he’s a really greatly talented person.”

Brat Pack-tainted or not, “if a fantastic movie role came along,” she says, “I’d be happy to do it.”

Sweet Charity runs Tuesday, March 27 through Sunday, April 1 at the Peace Center in Greenville, S.C. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $45, $55 and $65. (800) 888-7768.