Lea DeLaria Talks ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK S2, Theatre & More

Broadway headliner, caustic comedian, jazz crooner and Orange is the New Black breakout star Lea DeLaria discusses juggling a busy theatre career with filming duties on the hit women's prison-set Netflix original series.

As for how the comic actress has managed to stay active in the theatre while shooting two seasons of the series, with the second currently in production, DeLaria asserts, "When we finished shooting that in mid-March, I got cast as Vera Charles in MAME, then went right into THE CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE with Christopher Lloyd at CSC. Then we did SO OVER THE RAINBOW with Scott Thompson, Sandy Bernhard and me," before doing a residency at Dixon Place, "and then I went right into filming season two," she recapitulates.

Bringing it back to theatre yet again, DeLaria compares the importance of Orange is the New Black and its applicability to society as such, "We're asking people to think here. People are used to being spoon-fed what to think from the moment they're born."

DeLaria adds, "This show makes people think, in the way a Tony Kushner play makes people think. It's raised the level of what you can do and see on TV."

Additionally, DeLaria opines that she had a feeling Orange is the New Black would catch on from the start.

"We had [creator] Jenji Kohan; the cast is so good it's insane. That's two-thirds of the way. Then there are the directors and writers... I knew it was going to be good," DeLaria says.

Check out the original article on the matter here.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride