Kate Wetherhead stars as Jane, a new mother whose husband is keeping a big secret, in the hilarious (and then surprisingly moving) new off-Broadway comedy Clever Little Lies
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Wetherhead appeared on Broadway as Kate ("lose the gum Kate, you look like the maid") and Chutney (the bad perm killer) in Legally Blonde. Along with Andrew Keenan Bolger, she co-authored the Jack and Louisa children's book series and co-created the uber-popular webseries Submissions Only, in which she also starred. The duo's next project is the upcoming film The Ceiling Fan. Below, BroadwayBox chats with Wetherhead about the books that rocked her world as a kid, the ultimate Submissions Only episode and, of course, Clever Little Lies.
1. Jane is a true cheesecake hound, much like the beloved Golden Girls. What Golden Girl is Kate Wetherhead’s spirit animal?
Well initially I thought Dorothy because of her sarcasm and dry delivery, but my husband thinks I'm more of a Sophia. It's the same DNA, right?
2. What do you love about Jane, and what’s one piece of advice you wish you could give her?
I love Jane's sense of right and wrong; it's so clear to her. The advice I'd give her, and there's heavy, deliberate subtext behind it, is: "Go to the gym."
3. If someone has never seen Submissions Only but wants to give it a one-episode test try, what’s the episode they should check out?
Oooh, that's tough! But I'll say Season 2, Episode 4. There's a nice balance of absurdity and rom-com shenanigans. I could have a different answer tomorrow, but that's what I'll go with today.
4. What book completely changed your life when you read it? Additionally, what was your favorite book as kid?
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh completely changed my life. I was eight years old, and I'd started writing stories before reading that book, but the way I thought about writing totally changed once I'd hung out with Harriet for a while. It made me so excited that I started carrying a notebook around with me wherever I went. Except instead of spying on people I'd make up weird fantasy stories. I wasn't quite as voyeuristic or observational as Harriet (that would come later). All that being said, was it my favorite book as a kid? I don't think so. It's hard to pick, but I'll say the one that most captured my imagination was From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg. Two kids run away to The Metropolitan Museum of Art! How cool is that?
5. You and Andrew Keenan-Bolger have this wonderful artistic collaboration spanning several different mediums. What’s been the best day of that collaboration and the toughest day?
There have been a lot of great days for us, but the one that comes to mind is the day we first met with the publishing team from Penguin Young Readers and they asked us if we'd be interested in writing a children's book series about theater kids. The fact that there were people who admired our web series enough to ask us to create something totally different is just so wild. It felt like our collaboration was so beautifully validated that day.
And the toughest day? We've had our share of those, too. The day we filmed a big party scene for our Season 3 finale was pretty stressful. Just a lot of people to manage, a space we were unfamiliar with, a limited amount of time, an actor stuck in Florida who needed to be flown in at whatever cost... But really, it wasn't a disaster. Just exhausting.
Get yourself over to off-Broadway's Westside Theatre before March 20 to see Kate Wetherhead in 'Clever Little Lies'.
