FERNDALE, Mich. — The only bad thing about seeing the Gay Play Series at The Ringwald Theatre is that you only get to see four of the eight plays and must return on another day for the other four.

The opening night of Block A offered a mixed bag of a superhero and villain, a party of men, two lesbians celebrating their anniversary and a gay video store owner and the son of a former customer.

The four shows vary in length. Party of Men, written by Dale Dobson and directed by Gary Lehman, while entertaining, seemed to drag a bit (pun intended.) The premise was four guys gathered for a Dungeons and Dragons role-playing party, complete with Cheetos, Doritos, pizza and a rousing singing of the theme from “The Golden Girls” at the end. Mark (Issac Ellis) has the most dialogue as the Dungeon Master (dice roller/narrator/scenario director) of their adventures. Brandon (Greg Huntoon) is the host, and dons yellow rubber gloves for no explicable reason, but they are visually arresting, so maybe that’s why. Dizzy (Chris Fortin) and Egon (Donny Riedel) round out the cast. Egon, who professes to having not come out until age 24 (he was “role playing” until then, he jokes) ironically pretends to be straight in his D&D role. Dizzy is the most flamboyant, wrapping a scarf carefully around his head in anticipation of the balls of fire his role-playing character enjoyed throwing.

The block opens with Man in Peril, written by Alex Dremann and directed by Michelle LeRoy, which tells the tale of a man in peril (Kyle Johnson) being rescued by the Hero (Eric Niece) from the cackling Villain (Tiaja Sabrie). Suspense builds mildly before the show takes a nice twist at the end with a happy ending you might have seen coming.

You Too?, written by Dyan Bailey and directed by Lauren Bickers, is a sweet story about two women preparing to celebrate their relationship’s anniversary. Frazzled Claudia (Melissa Beckwith) and grounded Sophie (Dyan Bailey) each has a surprise for the other (hint: it’s not a puppy). It’s fun to be a fly on the wall during their intimate conversation.

The final story, Mr. Video, is the Brandy Joe Plambeck show, since he is the writer, director and lead character, Mr. Video, a video store owner. The supporting character, called simply Boy, is played with heart by Greg Ettleman. Boy is returning a box of videos that had been in the possession of his father, who has passed away. It turns out Mr. Video had been counseling the father about how to relate to his son, who had come out. The story ventures into camp, including Mr. Video watching the gay favorite, “Mommie Dearest,” and reciting the dialogue perfectly and with attitude, of course. Boy comes close to losing his “gay card” when he says he doesn’t like the lead actress of “Cabaret,” which Mr. Video had rented to his father to watch with him. Of course, the audience knows instantly that he’s dissing Liza Minnelli, like her mother Judy Garland a gay icon. Oh my!

This is the seventh installment of GPS, which runs for two weekends. Audience members are invited to vote for their favorite show. The winning script will receive an additional performance at the closing ceremonies June 27. Audience members also are asked to vote for favorite actor, actress and director, a tough task since they are all pretty damn good.

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