Pen Pals – Enduring Friendship

Following a spate of plays based on letters, Pen Pals is a slight, sweet piece about the fifty year epistolary friendship of Bernie/Bernadette (Pauletta Washington) from Newark and Mags/Margaret (Kate Burton) from Sheffield, England. Initiated by a school assignment when the girls are 14 – “Don’t you love high school?!” – an indelible bond grows from teenage crushes – first kiss and touch, first competitive peer nemesis, to career, husbands, children, illness, and loss.

Pauletta Washington
There are a few misunderstandings, a few brief silences, but nothing can sever their attachment. Vignettes are dated so we’re aware of context. Mags draws and sends pictures (we don’t see). They exchange photos (we don’t see). The English girl recommends classics like Jane Eyre with which which the American has initial difficulty. They swoon over Rock Hudson. Bernie takes to the stage. Her mom feels cost of an acting school is not worth it. Mags says to “Tell them to bugger off.” Colloquials are apt.

Kate Burton
Mags has to work in her parents’ pub. Men get handsy. Bernie encourages her friend to give them black eyes. Talk of boys and men is frequent. References to cultural touch points like The Beatles remind us of the era. When Bernie is worried about a pregnancy, Mags writes, “God wouldn’t hurt you now,” to which Bernie responds, “Clearly, you’re not Catholic.” At the very end, Bernie travels and they meet.
The play is like a warm bath.
Kate Burton is believable, in the moment, while Pauletta Washington seems facile.
Direction is rote.
Photos by Russ Rowland
Opening: Pauletta Washington, Kate Burton
Pen Pals by Michael Criffo
Directed by Susan Barabas
Jan 29 – Feb 2, 2025: Kate Burton and Pauletta Washington
Feb 5 – Feb 9, 2025: Johanna Day and Nancy McKeon
Pen Pals is proud to partner with Susan G. Komen®, donating 5 percent of ticket sales and 100 percent of customer donations to support breast cancer research and awareness initiatives.
St. Clement’s Theatre
423 West 46th Street