Annie Golden has never spoken a word as Norma on "Orange Is the New Black," but she did open her mouth to sing a song in season one and her beautiful pipes came from years of experience.
Before her sentence at Litchfield prison began, Golden fronted a punk rock band in the 1970s called The Shirts. The group opened for many big acts at the historic East Village music hall CBGB before director Miloš Forman discovered Golden and cast her in the 1979 Broadway production of "Hair."
The actress later starred in stage productions of "The Full Monty" and "Assassins." Golden also recorded the popular '80s tune, "Hang Up the Phone," that was featured on the "Sixteen Candles" soundtrack.
Golden credits her "OITNB" co-star Lea DeLaria, who plays Big Boo, for giving creator Jenji Kohan the idea to have Norma sing in the season one finale. Norma stepped into sing during the prison's Christmas show when Crazy Eyes (Uzo Aduba) got stage fright.
"Lea DeLaria was showing YouTube clips to the newbie kids of me singing at CBGBs and Bottom Line and on Broadway and in 'Cabaret'," she explained to Cosmopolitan.com. "So Jenji was sitting there and she said to Lea, while I was standing there, she went, 'Hey, Lea, what do you thing about the first time you hear Norma speak, she sings?"
The Broadway veteran worried that her singing and somewhat speaking debut on the show would lead to more talking. Fortunately for her, Norma went back to keeping her mouth shut.
"I came to season two and I was back to being silent, and I was grateful for that," she said. "I see [Norma being mute] as a challenge, but a gift. I feel like Norma is the narrator of the piece; she project how people should feel about things."
The third season of "Orange Is the New Black" is now streaming on Netflix.