| KATE BURTON, ELLEN MCLAUGHLIN & GAIL WINAR Join the Rotating Cast of PEN PALS | |
| Posted by: Official_Press_Release 03:52 pm EST 12/16/24 | |
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| KATE BURTON, ELLEN MCLAUGHLIN & GAIL WINAR Join the Rotating Cast of PEN PALS with previously announced JOHANNA DAY, NANCY McKEON, CATHERINE CURTIN, SHARON LAWRENCE, NIA VARDALOS, MARY BETH PEIL, PAULETTA WASHINGTON, and more! Running through February 9, 2025 "If you go, and you should, you will be touched by the engaging story and compelling acting and will also provide support for this important cause." - DC Theater Arts (New York, NY) – Lisa Dozier Shacket and the producers of Pen Pals, the poignant and heartwarming new play by Michael Griffo, is thrilled to announce the addition of Kate Burton, Elle McLaughlin, and Gail Winar joining the stellar rotating cast at the Theatre at St. Clements. Performances began on December 5, 2024, and running through February 9, 2025, Pen Pals will feature an extraordinary ensemble of acclaimed actors in its limited engagement, directed by SuzAnne Barabas. Each pair of performers will bring their unique chemistry to the roles of Bernie and Mags, two lifelong friends whose deep connection is formed entirely through letters exchanged over five decades. Rotating Cast Schedule: • Dec 5 – Dec 22, 2024: Johanna Day (How I Learned to Drive, Sweat ) & Nancy McKeon (The Facts of Life, The Division) • Dec 26 – Dec 29, 2024: Catherine Curtin ("Stranger Things," "Orange is the New Black") & Sharon Lawrence ("NYPD Blue," "Queen Sugar") • Jan 2 – Jan 12, 2025: Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) & GAIL WINAR (NY:Trans Scripts, Part I: The Women) • Jan 20 – Jan 26, 2025: Ellen McLaughlin (August Osage County) & Mary Beth Peil ("The Good Wife," Anastasia) • Jan 29 – Feb 2, 2025: Kate Burton (Three Time Tony nominee, Present Laughter ) & Pauletta Washington (She's Gotta Have It) • Feb 5 – Feb 9, 2025: Johanna Day & Nancy McKeon Two Ordinary Women, One Extraordinary Relationship. Inspired by a true store, Pen Pals is a testament to the power of connection, resilience, and the unbreakable bonds of friendship. With the new cast lineup, each performance promises to offer audiences a fresh and dynamic portrayal of these unforgettable characters. Pen Pals's unforgettable theatrical journey celebrates friendship, resilience, and the letters that bind them. "Having this incredible ensemble of powerhouse women bring Pen Pals to life is an absolute joy and privilege. Each of them brings a unique voice and depth to this remarkable story of friendship and resilience. It's an honor to share this journey with such a dynamic group of artists who embody the heart and soul of what this play is all about." — Lisa Dozier Shacket, Producer. Pen Pals is proud to partner with Susan G. Komen®, donating 5% of ticket sales and 100% of customer donations to support breast cancer research and awareness initiatives. The production features scenic design by Jessica Parks, costume design by David C. Woolard, lighting design by Jill Nagle, sound design by Nick Simone, and stage management by Rose Riccardi. Lisa Dozier Shacket produces Pen Pals with Joe Trentacosta , Logan DeWitt, Anthony Hazzard, and Scott Stolzenberg in association with NJ Repertory Company, with general management by LDK Productions/ Michael Shannon. Performances run through February 9, 2025, at The Theatre at St. Clement's Theatre, 423 West 46th Street, New York, NY. Tickets are $35–$125 and are available at www.PenPalsPlay.com. For press inquiries, please contact JT Public Relations at joe@jt-pr.net or 973-568-8236. Bios: JOHANNA DAY - Broadway: How I Learned to Drive, The Nap, Sweat (Tony Nomination), You Can't Take It With You, August: Osage County, Lombardi, Proof (Tony Nomination). Theatre: Scene Partners (Vineyard), Floyd's (Guthrie), Peace for Mary Francis (New Group), Peter and Jerry (Second Stage – Drama Desk Nomination), Appropriate (Signature – Obie Award, The Lilly Award), Poor Behavior (Mark Taper), Realistic Joneses (Yale), Choice (Huntington), The Rainmaker (Arena Stage – Helen Hayes Award), How I Learned to Drive (Vineyard). Television: "Bull," "The Good Fight," "Madam Secretary" (5 Years Recurring), "For Life," "New Amsterdam," "The Blacklist," "Escape at Dannemora," "The Knick," "The Americans," "Masters of Sex." Film: Worth, The Post, Great Gilly Hopkins, How Far She Went, The Breatharian. NANCY McKEON An actress, director, and producer best known for playing Jo Polniaczek on the beloved long-running 1980s sitcom "The Facts of Life." She starred in and produced the sitcom "Can't Hurry Love" and co-starred with Jean Smart in "Style & Substance." From 2001 to 2004, McKeon portrayed Inspector Jinny Exstead on the Lifetime police drama "The Division", where she also directed two episodes.McKeon starred in numerous made-for-TV movies during the 1980s and 1990s, including A Cry for Help: The Tracey Thurman Story, in which she portrayed the title role of Tracey Thurman, and Firefighter, where she played Los Angeles County's first female firefighter. In Strange Voices, she portrayed a woman with schizophrenia. Other notable credits include "Love, Honor and Obey" and "The Last Mafia Marriage", a miniseries with Eric Roberts. She produced many of these films through her company, Forest Hills Entertainment. In 1999, McKeon wrote and directed her own short film, A Wakening, which won two film festival awards. CATHERINE CURTIN is an award-winning actor known for her versatile performances across over 150 film and television projects. She won SAG Awards for her ensemble work in "Orange Is the New Black" (2015, 2016) and was nominated again in 2018 for "Stranger Things." Recently, she wrapped Saturday Night (dir. Jason Reitman), playing NBC censor Joan Carbunkle. Curtin's TV credits include recurring roles on "Partner Track," "Homeland," "Insecure," and guest spots on "Mindhunter," "The Blacklist," "Blue Bloods," and more. Upcoming projects include Bad Shabbos (Tribeca 2024) and If That Mockingbird Don't Sing (Bentonville 2024). Her film work spans acclaimed titles such as Werewolves Within, Worth, Bad Education, The Wolf of Wall Street, and The Bourne Legacy. Curtin's performances have been recognized at major festivals including Cannes, Sundance, and Tribeca, earning her 11 wins and 12 nominations for Best Actress, Supporting Actress, and Ensemble. SHARON LAWRENCE currently stars as the mischievous Missy in the Paramount+ series "Joe Pickett" , based on the bestselling novels. Recent roles include Louise in Showtime's "On Becoming a God in Central Florida " and a mysterious librarian in Apple TV's "Home Before Dark." She's had memorable recurring roles in "Rebel," "Criminal Minds," "Shameless," "The Ranch," "Queen Sugar," and "Walker." Sharon's versatility shines in performances ranging from "Dynasty" to "How to Get Away with Murder," " Blunt Talk" to "Solace." She headlined NBC's "Fired Up" and CBS's "Ladies Man" and won acclaim for her one-woman play The Shot. Best known for her Emmy and SAG-winning role as Sylvia Costas in "NYPD Blue" and her Emmy-nominated turn on "Grey's Anatomy," Sharon's stage credits include Chicago on Broadway and critically praised performances in LA and Off-Broadway theaters. A North Carolina native, she is a UNC-Chapel Hill alumna and 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient. Sharon actively supports environmental and artistic causes as a board member of Heal the Bay and Second VP of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. ELLEN McLAUGHLIN has worked extensively in regional, international and New York theater, both as an actor and as a playwright. Acting work includes originating the part of the Angel in Angels in America, playing the role in workshops and regional productions through its original Broadway run. Other favorite work includes Violet in August Osage County at Missouri Rep, King Lear in King Lear at Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Nancy in Seascape at ACT, San Francisco, the Homebody in Homebody/Kabul (Intiman, Seattle, WA), Pirate Jenny in A Threepenny Opera (Trinity Rep. Elliot Norton Award), Claire in Albee's A Delicate Balance (Arena Stage, Yale Repertory Theater), Margie in Good People (George St. Theater, Seattle Rep.) Penelope, and The Year of Magical Thinking, (Playmakers' Rep. NC.) Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream, (The McCarter, Paper Mill, N.J.) Her plays have been produced Off-Broadway, regionally and internationally. She has taught playwriting at Barnard College since 1995. MARY BETH PEIL In addition to her work on screen, Mary Beth Peil is highly regarded in the theater world. She currently stars opposite Una Clancy in The Dead, 1904 at the Irish Repertory Theatre. In 2017, she received Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle nominations for her performance in Anastasia. Her additional Broadway credits include Les Liaisons Dangereuses, The Visit, Follies, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Sunday in the Park with George, Nine, and the 1985 production of The King and I, for which she earned her first Tony nomination. Most recently, Peil appeared in Classic Stage Company's Off-Broadway productions of A Man of No Importance and Macbeth . NIA VARDALOS Academy Award®, WGA, SAG, and Golden Globe nominee, as well as a People's Choice and Independent Spirit award-winning screenwriter and actor, Nia Vardalos is the only woman to have solo written a film franchise. She is a New York Times bestselling author of her memoir Instant Mom, with all proceeds benefiting adoption charities, placing over 2,000 children in permanent homes. Select film writing/acting credits include the My Big Fat Greek Wedding trilogy, Connie and Carla, I Hate Valentine's Day, Chucky, Ivy + Bean, Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities, Motivated! series for Audible, Wonder Woman, and DuckTales. Select stage credits: Additional material writer for the Cher Broadway Musical, award-winning alumna of The Second City, 24 Hour Plays on Broadway, Twelfth Night, Kismet, The Music Man, Company. Directed by Thomas Kail, Vardalos's stage adaptation of Cheryl Strayed's Tiny Beautiful Things was a New York Times Critic's Pick. GAIL WINAR -Acting credits include original roles in Pen Pals (NJ Rep); Trans Scripts, Part I: The Women (59E59, Edinburgh Festival Fringe); Missa Solemnis (Shotgun Productions); Beyond Gravity (NJ Rep); and What I Heard About Iraq (Edinburgh Festival Fringe), as well as numerous tours throughout the U.S., U.K., and Europe, As a director, producer, and/or creative consultant, Gail has collaborated on 50+ theater projects globally including Not Another Deaf Story at the Group Repertory Theatre in LA, TimeSlips at HERE Arts Center in NYC, and multiple award-winning productions at the internationally acclaimed Edinburgh Festival Fringe. As an educator, Gail has taught for the Roundabout Theatre Company on Broadway, Kean University, Marymount Manhattan College, NYU/Lee Strasberg Studio, American Globe Theatre, National Shakespeare Company, and Theatre for a New Audience, as well as serving as guest lecturer at Stockholm University in Sweden, Starfish Academy in West Africa, and the Jakarta International School in Indonesia - among others. KATE BURTON Broadway: Present Laughter (2017, Kevin Kline), Spring Awakening, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, An American Daughter, Wild Honey, Company, Doonesbury, Jake's Women. Tony-nominated for Hedda Gabler (directed by Nicholas Martin), The Elephant Man (directed by Sean Mathias), and The Constant Wife (directed by Mark Brokaw). Drama Desk-nominated for Some Americans Abroad (directed by Roger Michell). Theatre World Award winner for Present Laughter (1982, starring and directed by George C. Scott).Film/TV: Dumb Money, The Anne Frank Gift Shop, Our Son, Inventing Anna, The Dropout, Unfaithful , The Ice Storm, 127 Hours, 2 Days in New York, Liberal Arts, Where'd You Go, Bernadette, Celebrity , Big Trouble in Little China, Homeland, Empire Falls, Scandal, Grey's Anatomy.Awards: Three Tony nominations, three Emmy nominations, Emmy winner. Education & Teaching: Professor at USC and Brown University. Graduate of Brown University and Yale University. PAULETTA WASHINGTON Broadway: Jesus Christ Superstar, Sophisticated Ladies, Shakespeare's Cabaret, The All Night Strut! Off-Broadway: Love, Loss, and What I Wore (Union Square Theatre), Desperate Writers (Union Square Theatre), Soul Possessed (The Kennedy Center), Spiritual, Jerry's Girls Regional: A Christmas Show (Lincoln Center Theater). Film/TV: "Genius: Aretha Franklin" (dir. Anthony Hemingway), "She's Gotta Have It" Season Two (dir. Spike Lee), The Real MVP: The Wanda Durant Story (dir. Nelson George), "The Parkers" (dir. Tony Singletary), Beloved (dir. Jonathan Demme), Wilma (dir. Bud Greenspan), "Reasonable Doubt" (EP Kerry Washington). |
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