Emmy-nominated actress Sharon Lawrence (“NYPD Blue”) chatted about starring in the Off-Broadway show “Pen Pals” and working with Maureen McCormick (“The Brady Bunch”).
In “Pen Pals,” Bernie (Maureen McCormick) and Mags (Sharon Lawrence) live in two different countries (United States and England respectively), they haven’t met in person, but they are best friends through their sincere and secret letters to one another.
“Pen Pals” was written by Michael Griffo and it was directed by SuzAnne Barabas.
Lawrence reprises her role as Mags in this play, which is being performed at the DR2 Theatre in New York City. On being a part of “Pen Pals,” she exclaimed, “It’s so much fun. I’m just loving it.”
Working with Maureen McCormick
On working with Maureen McCormick as Bernie, Lawrence said, “Maureen is so kind, engaged, and as you can see, her talent is so obvious.”
“Maureen has always been talented but I didn’t know the range of everything that she has explored,” Lawrence said.
“It is very encouraging for me to know that she is so happy in her life; that’s really not something that a lot of child stars can say, and I think that’s just inspiring to me,” Lawrence acknowledged.
“I watched the show ‘The Brad Bunch’ when I was younger, but I didn’t know some of the experiences she has had doing so many other kinds of things,” she added.
Lawrence on playing Mags
On playing Mags, Lawrence shared, “This time around I think I’ve found her character flaws even more interesting. I just trust going there with her. Mags is problematic and I think sitting with her this time I see where her selfish impulses come from.”
“I’m more facile with embodying them and bringing them out and maturing through them, and that has been something that’s satisfying to experiment with,” she added.
Lessons learned from this play
On the lessons learned from this play, Lawrence reflected, “It taught me how much I love collaborating, and that’s what we do in our business all the time. That’s why live theatre will stay one of my greatest passions.”
“We are doing it together as a creative team all the time,” she admitted. “That’s day in and day out. Then, there’s the most important reason for doing it and that is with the audience. We are doing this with our audience, where we get to exchange the energy back and forth between the audience.”
“Being a part of that moment in time together, it’s sacred,” she noted.
“As our storytelling becomes more and more digitized, I’ll double down on live theater all the time as long as I can,” she acknowledged.
“I will be sitting in the theater just as frequently as I am on the stage, but probably even more,” she added.
Message for her fans
For her fans, Lawrence expressed, “I’m so happy that we are in this lifetime together. We have the ability to go back and reminisce about the things that we’ve seen together, whether it’s on stage or on screen.”
Closing thoughts on ‘Pen Pals’
Lawrence remarked, “After seeing ‘Pen Pals,’ I want people to take away how important, rejuvenating and special the love that you share with a longtime friend is. Also, to watch each other go through the different phases of life.”
To learn more about Sharon Lawrence, follow her on Instagram.
Read More: “Pen Pals” review starring Sharon Lawrence and Maureen McCormick.
