On July 25, the cast of Orange is the New Black studded the NYC red carpet premiere at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center.
In celebration of the finale of this Netflix original show, the event included a fan zone where the cast greeted the show’s biggest supporters.
We had the opportunity to speak with a few cast members: Amanda Stephen, Emily Tarver, Catherine Curtain, Lin Tucci, and Vicci Martinez, and here’s what they had to say.
The Knockturnal: How are you feeling now that we’re approaching the finale?
Amanda Stephen: “It’s just like completion and a celebration. It feels like an end but we get to enjoy and relish in it. There’s no more anticipations so we’re just kind of letting loose, you know? Everything is coming out, you’re going to see where people end up, we’re going to cry and laugh. Because you always gotta laugh with Orange. It’s like that snotty, laugh cry, not cute laugh, so it’s just bittersweet.”
Emily Tarver: “I love you for asking that. We have been nervous and excited all day and it feels a little like graduation. And it feels happy and sad at the same time and change for everybody who has been apart of the show for so long. Everyone is probably feeling like what’s next. But it feels good to be apart of something that will carry on because the message and the diversity. And we’re focusing on issues which are really important right now and hopefully the work that every last person has done on the show will make people’s voices louder about it all.”
The Knockturnal: What’s one take away you have from the show?
Lin Tucci: “What kept on inspiring me on set and off set was when we used to do the Women’s Prison Association. Tonight, the minute I hit the red carpet, that flashback of the first time they invited us to something came to my mind. It was like a freeze frame in my mind because they knew that we would be able to help their cause. Quite honestly, I’m being naive about this. I didn’t realize to what extent. I thought maybe because we were in Orange it would be nice for some of the girls to meet us. Oh no, I learned from them. I am now 100% invested in women that have been trying to become civilians once they’ve been incarcerated and how their life continues after that. That is a huge thing for me.”
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Catherine Curtain: “I’m feeling like a grown up and I don’t know that I felt like a grown up my whole life. And I think that in a way, Orange gave me a chance to grow up artistically. Personally and also from the point of view politically. I feel like I’m so much more politically revolutionary right now than I was before Orange started.”
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Lin Tucci: “Our show absolutely shined the light on those areas and I do believe in my heart, this is only a pause. I think there may be a reset button and more story to tell about these women. I do think Jenji and hopefully Piper and the combination platter with Ted and Cindy from Netflix, hopefully they will continue the story.”
Catherine Curtain: “At at Whole Foods will employ women who have records, and I met a woman who is a manager at Whole Foods and she was in prison.”
The Knockturnal: What’s one thing your character has taught you that you will cherish beyond the show?
Vicci Martinez: “For me it will be the loyalty. Daddy is a pusher and she’s trying to hustle, she’s trying to get by, but at the same time, she loves who she loves. And having a chance to play that, I met Emily the last episode, last year and I love her and I learned how to be loyal and will do anything for her. I mean, here we are together.”
Emily Tarver: “Because I suffer from anxiety and depression, I think we all do to some extent and I watched her suffer silently. And I think what I took from that is: I can share my pain with people that love me and want to share it with me. And if we’re all honest and open and not afraid to speak about mental illness, you might speak to someone that you didn’t know needed help. You might encourage them to be open about it.”
The Knockturnal: What’s something that you want your fans to know?
Amanda Stephen: “Take the lessons learned from Orange: don’t see people at face value, go deeper. People are so much more than they seem. Their stories are so much deeper. Be diverse in your friends and in your relationships. Fight for what’s right because you’ve seen what [people] have had to go through when they don’t have someone to stand up for them. So stand up if you can.”
