Facts of Life’s Nancy McKeon and Two-Time Tony Nom Johanna Day to star in NY Debut of PEN PALS by Michael Griffo

Pen Pals by Michael Griffo

Nancy McKeon

Johanna Day

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Pen Pals debuts in NYC, starring Johanna Day and Nancy McKeon; it runs Dec 5-22, 2024.

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, October 23, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ — In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the producers of Pen Pals, the poignant and captivating new play by Michael Griffo are excited to announce its New York City debut at The Theatre at St. Clement’s. After its overwhelmingly positive response from its sold-out run at New Jersey Repertory Company, this presentation will feature Two-Time Tony Nominee Johanna Day (How I Learned to Drive, Sweat) and Nancy McKeon (“Facts of Life”); Pen Pals tells the extraordinary story of two women who forge an unbreakable bond over five decades—entirely through letters. Directed by SuzAnne Barabas, the production will begin performances on December 5, 2024, with its official opening night on December 11, 2024, and will run through December 22, 2024.

Inspired by a true story, Pen Pals, follows Bernie, played by Nancy McKeon (“Facts of Life”), and Mags (two-time Tony Award-nominee Johanna Day) live in two different countries, they’ve never met, and yet they’re best friends. Because they’ve been pen pals for over fifty years.

Since they were teenagers, they’ve shared every aspect of their lives with each other. The trivial bits, the most intimate details, all the happiness, all the heartache. They’ve told each other things they wouldn’t dare tell another soul. Even though Bernie lives in New Jersey and Mags is from England, the women are closer to each other than anyone else in the world.’

After a sold-out run at NJ Rep, critics have called Pen Pals “Utterly absorbing, packing an emotional punch. So intense you feel like you’re watching a story unfold in real-time.” “I cannot more strongly encourage you to see the story of two Pen Pals.” Out in NJ. The play’s universal themes of connection, resilience, and friendship resonate deeply with audiences of all backgrounds.

“It is an honor to be producing PEN PALS, a show that celebrates the extraordinary in the everyday lives of women by demonstrating the strength of friendship and female empowerment. We are thrilled for audiences to experience this beautiful show and see a piece of their own humanity in the story of Bernie and Mags.” – Lead Producer, Lisa Dozier Shacket.

Pen Pals is proud to partner with Susan G. Komen^® for the Off-Broadway production and will donate 5% of the total ticket sales and 100% of all customer donations collected to Susan G. Komen^®, whose mission is to save lives by meeting the most critical needs in our communities and investing in breakthrough research to prevent and cure breast cancer. For more information, please contact Susan G. Komen^® at 13770 Noel Road, Suite 801889, Dallas, Texas 75380 or visit www.komen.org.

The creative team includes Jessica Parks (set designer), David C. Woolard (costume designer), Jill Nagle (lighting designer), and Nick Simone (sound designer), with Rose Riccardi as the production stage manager. Pen Pals is general managed by LDK Productions/ Michael Shannon. Produced by Lisa Dozier Shacket with Anthony Hazzard and Scott Stolzenberg in association with NJ Repertory Company. Logan DeWitt is associate producer.

Pen Pals begins performances on December 5 at 7 PM (special first preview curtain time) and will open on December 11, running through December 22, 2024. The show plays Monday at 7 PM, Thursday at 5 PM & 8 PM, Friday at 7 PM, Saturday at 2 PM & 8 PM, and Sunday at 3 PM (ADDED SHOW Wednesday, Dec 18 at 7 PM) at St. Clement’s Theatre, located at 423 West 46th St, New York, NY. Tickets are $35 – $125 and can be purchased by visiting www.PenPalsPlay.com

BiosJOHANNA 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,” and “Masters of Sex.” Film: Worth, The Post, Great Gilley Hopkins, How Far She Went, and The Breatharian.

NANCY McKEON is 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 starred alongside Jean Smart in Style & Substance. McKeon portrayed Inspector Jinny Exstead on the Lifetime police drama The Division from 2001 to 2004, directing two episodes. She starred in numerous made-for-TV movies in the 1980s and 1990s, including A Cry for Help: The Tracey Thurman Story (as Tracey Thurman), Firefighter (portraying the first female firefighter in Los Angeles County), Strange Voices (as a woman with schizophrenia), and Love, Honor and Obey: The Last Mafia Marriage (a mini-series with Eric Roberts). She produced many of these movies through her film company, Forest Hills Entertainment. In 1999, McKeon wrote and directed her own short film, A Wakening, which won two film festival awards.

MICHAEL GRIFFO has written over 20 plays, including 9th Street Water, The Date, Klaxson ’77, and No More Sundays – winner of the New Jersey Perry Award for Best Original Play. Can Dina Even Spell Afghanistan? was a finalist for the Reva Shiner Comedy Award, and Cloudy and 5G/10B were both published in Smith & Kraus’s 2005: The Best 10-Minute Plays for Two Actors. His high school plays – Material Girls and Promapocalypse! – are licensed by Theatrical Rights Worldwide. He has published 15 novels with Kensington Books, including Between Boyfriends, The Archangel Academy Trilogy, The Darkborn Legacy Series, and The Ferrara Family Mystery Series. His new mystery series launched in September 2023 with the publication of Murder in an Italian Village, followed by Murder in an Italian Café, published in September 2024. His screenplays include The Silver Reindeer, The Christmas Swap, and Holiday High School Reunion. www.michaelgriffo.com.

Joe Trentacosta
JT Public Relations Corporation
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