Catherine Curtin: 'Stranger Things,' 'Orange is the New Black' and 'Pen Pals'

With Nathaniel Rothrock on 'Rhythm And Smooth', Dress: Patrick Saint Jean, Photography: Zoe Taylor

Markos Papadatos interviewed acclaimed actress Catherine Curtin of “Stranger Things” and “Orange is the New Black” about starring in the Off-Broadway show “Pen Pals.”

“Pen Pals” was written by Michael Griffo and directed by SuzAnne Barabas. It features a rotating cast of actresses, and it celebrates the power of friendship through handwritten letters that were exchanged over five decades between two women Bernie (Catherine Curtin) and Mags (Marcia Cross).

‘Pen Pals’ experience

On starring in “Pen Pals,” Curtin said, “Doing ‘Pen Pals’ has been so interesting! I think Marcia Cross is a genius. I love working with her, so that has been really great! It’s such an interesting script because it’s a little bit different every night, and I really love that.”

“The audience is your partner on some levels. It’s never going to be the same because each audience is different and has a different personality,” she said.

“One night the script is a little funnier, the other night, it’s sadder, or the other night it’s too sad, so you try to pick it up a little bit. It’s like an animal. I love art that is alive and movable; it’s like a movable feast,” Curtin acknowledged.

Working with Marcia Cross

On working with Marcia Cross as her acting partner (as Mags), Curtin said, “First of all, Marcia is so classy! She is such a really great human being… she is so gentle, smart, together, fabulous, on it, and aware.”

“Marcia brings that to the stage each time. She is such a hard worker, and I love working with hard workers; I just do. Marcia goes for it each time,” she said.

“I did this play once before with Sharon Lawrence, who I absolutely adore! I love Sharon Lawrence, and I love how courageous she is, and I love how Marcia is so courageous too,” Curtin elaborated.

“I also had the chance to do it with Gail Winar too, and they are all fascinating women and actors. Honestly, I feel grateful to have done this show with all three of them,” Curtin added.

Lessons learned from this show

On the lessons learned from this play, Curtin reflected, “It’s weird because when I was a kid about 12 years old, we had pen pals. We only wrote a couple of letters back and forth. When I wrote them, I remember being very startled that there was another person in the world who was like me and felt like me.”

“I didn’t keep up with that pen pal, which is a regret,” he admitted. “Reflecting on that, that was the first time for me, that I really clued in to a part of who I am inside, and was the first introduction to that part of me.”

“This show just enables that, and it brings it up and it brings me out. I am very grateful. I am learning to be stronger. The show is giving me this way of being in a world that is stronger than I have been. I really think this play is making me stronger,” she elaborated.

‘Stranger Things’

On her experience being a part of “Stranger Things,” Curtin said, “I love ‘Stranger Things.’ Who doesn’t love ‘Stranger Things?’ The creators of that show, The Duffer Brothers, are two of the kindest people you are ever going to meet.”

“They are such big stars and they are kind, gentle, humble and unassuming guys. Working on that set, you really feel protected, free and you really feel like you are being seen and your work is being seen,” she elaborated.

“It is such a lovely set to work on! I loved working on it,” she explained.

‘Orange is the New Black’

On being a part of “Orange is the New Black,” she said, “I love ‘Orange is the New Black.’ When it came along, I felt so grateful to be able to tell that story. Prisons are really warehouses of souls.”

“I love how ‘Orange’ really shined a light to the people in prisons, and we could fall in love with these characters. That was such an important thing that ‘Orange’ did. I was so glad to be a part of that, and I think they really wanted to be a part of this conversation,” she elaborated.

“I was very grateful that ‘Orange’ put a human face to people behind bars. It really gave them hope and dreams, and it was very important,” she added.

‘Homeland’

Curtin also recalled her time on “Homeland.” “I loved ‘Homeland!’ What a great show that was. Those people were so smart. They were talking about bots, and all those things long before anybody else was,” she said.

“That show was so well-researched,” she noted. “Talk about smart people. I loved the acting of that show, and I loved the intensity of it. ‘Homeland’ was so fun and such a very special show to have been a part of.”

“I love politics and government service, and all the investigations they did, intellectually, emotionally on that show. I thought it was a really great show. I was very grateful to be a part of it,” she elaborated.

Success

Regarding her definition of the word success, Curtin said with a sweet laugh, “Success means being able to get my dogs to the dog park each day. I think that’s where I am right now.”

“Success means that I understand how to care about the world, and I would like to help affect more change in the world in a positive way. That feels like success to me, and I haven’t figured out completely how to do that,” she explained.

“Right now, I feel that art is more important than ever, especially with AI and everything coming on humanity. Art is one of the ways where we learn to continue to have humanity, and to respect and honor our humanity,” she elaborated.

“A world of AI without humanity feels like a pretty crazy place for me, and that’s where the discussion is now. More than ever, it’s super important for art to be with us,” she noted.

“Art is one of the pathways that we embolden and protect our humanity,” she added.

Closing thoughts on ‘Pen Pals’

For fans and viewers, she expressed, “From this play, I want people to get the sense that we all matter… our feeling matter, our friends matter, and our loved ones matter.”

Curtin continued, “Cruelty is not actually the way to be in this world. Authoritarianism is wrong, and people are good, and they want goodness. People want to be a part of a loving experience in their everyday lives, their work and in their art.”

“The show ‘Pen Pals’ is a very simple story, and I am always stunned that audiences are so affected by this story of two women writing letters to each other for 50 years. It’s so important,” she concluded.

To learn more about Catherine Curtin, follow her on Instagram.

Photo Credit for cover photo: Zoe Taylor.

Dancer Partner in cover photo: Nathaniel Rothrock.

Dress design in cover photo by: Patrick Saint Jean.