Molly Ringwald Now Plays a Granny in ‘Terms of Endearment’

Say it ain’t so.

Can it really be that Molly Ringwald, who for a generation of moviegoers — my generation of moviegoers — will forever be fondly recalled as the fresh-faced, lovable teenage star of John Hughes movies, is now playing a grandmother? Gulp.

Yes, I’m afraid that much time has passed. Those of us who know what the term Brat Pack refers to are all receiving monthly mailings from AARP, and now Ms. Ringwald — still looking pretty fresh-faced, actually — is starring in a stage version of “Terms of Endearment,” playing the role that won an Oscar for Shirley MacLaine in the popular 1983 movie. (It was just a year later that Ms. Ringwald shot to stardom in Mr. Hughes’s “Sixteen Candles.”)