Kate Wetherhead is an American actress, writer and director known for her work on ''

Submissions Only ''Submissions Only'' is a comedy web series about the casting and audition process for Broadway theater. It centers around aspiring actress Penny Reilly ( Kate Wetherhead) and her friend, casting agency director Tim Trull ( Colin Hanlon), and the ...

,'' ''

Legally Blonde ''Legally Blonde'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic in his feature-length directorial debut, and scripted by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith from Amanda Brown's 2001 novel of the same name. It stars Reese Wit ...

'', and the ''Jack and Louisa'' book series.

Early life and education

Kate was born in Burlington, Vermont, to Christine and Arnold Wetherhead. She began acting at age six and writing at seven. Wetherhead found her love for theatre after seeing a local production of ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid- ...

''. She appeared in several shows at the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the United ...

, including ''

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' is a three-act play written by Tennessee Williams. An adaptation of his 1952 short story "Three Players of a Summer Game", the play was written by him between 1953 and 1955. One of Williams's more famous works and his p ...

'' and ''

The Miracle Worker ''The Miracle Worker'' refers to a broadcast, a play and various other adaptations of Helen Keller's 1903 autobiography ''The Story of My Life''. The first of these works was a 1957 ''Playhouse 90'' broadcast written by William Gibson and sta ...

''. She has a bachelor's degree in English from

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the c ...

and trained as an actor at

Circle in the Square Theatre School Circle in the Square Theatre School is a non-profit, tax exempt drama school associated with Circle in the Square Theatre; it is the only accredited conservatory attached to a Broadway theatre. It offers two 2-year full-time programs: a Profes ...

Career

Wetherhead began her career in children's theatre, appearing

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

in '' Sarah, Plain and Tall'', ''Tatjana in Color'', ''Summer of the Swans'', and '' Cam Jansen'', as well as touring with '' A Christmas Carol''. She made her

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

debut in 2005 as the

understudy In theater, an understudy, referred to in opera as cover or covering, is a performer who learns the lines and blocking or choreography of a regular actor, actress, or other performer in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to a ...

for Olive Ostrovsky, Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre, and Marcy Park in ''

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee ''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'' is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn, based on a book by Rachel Sheinkin, conceived by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional sp ...

''. She left the show to originate the roles of Kate and Chutney in the Broadway production of ''

''. She left ''Legally Blonde'' in 2008, performing regionally in such shows as ''

Steel Magnolias ''Steel Magnolias'' is a 1989 American comedy-drama film directed by Herbert Ross and starring Academy Award winner Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis and Julia Roberts. The picture is a film adaptat ...

'' and '' Almost, Maine''. In 2009 she starred as Deb in '' Ordinary Days'' by Adam Gwon for

Roundabout Theatre Company The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. History The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fried and Elizabeth ...

. In 2010, she met Andrew Keenan-Bolger in a regional production of '' It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman'', and, after collaborating on a behind-the-scenes video for the production, they decided to make a web series together. The two created the show ''

'', with Wetherhead writing and directing as well as playing the protagonist, Penny Reilly. In 2012, she returned to Off-Broadway in ''The Other Josh Cohen'', for which she received a

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

nomination. ''

'' ended its third and final season in 2014. From 2013 to 2016, Wetherhead and Keenan-Bolger co-wrote the three-part children's book series ''Jack & Louisa'', published by

Penguin Group Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a merger that was finalised on 1 July 2013, with Bertelsmann initial ...

. The two also have a feature film in development with Sycamore Pictures. In 2018, Wetherhead made her theatrical directorial debut at

Bucks County Playhouse THE BUCKS COUNTRY PLAYHOUSE The Bucks County Playhouse is located in New Hope, Pennsylvania. When the ''Hope Mills'' burned in 1790, the grist mills were rebuilt as the ''New Hope Mills,'' by Benjamin Parry. The town was renamed for the mills. ...

, directing ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'' for the youth company. She has since directed ''

Shrek The Musical ''Shrek The Musical'' is a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire. It is based on the 2001 DreamWorks Animation film ''Shrek'', along with elements of its sequels: '' Shrek 2'', '' Shrek Forever Afte ...

'' (Jr.) for the playhouse, along with developmental readings and workshops for

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, ...

and

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

. In March 2021 it was announced that Wetherhead, with

Paul Rudnick Paul Rudnick (born December 29, 1957) is an American writer. His plays have been produced both on and off Broadway and around the world. He is also known for having written the screenplays for several movies, including ''Sister Act'', '' Addams ...

, would co-write a musical adaptation of '' The Devil Wears Prada''. The musical premiered in Chicago in July 2022.

Personal life

Wetherhead is married to lighting designer Jeff Croiter.

Theatre

Filmography

Bibliography

Concerts

Discography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wetherhead, Kate American stage actresses Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Burlington, Vermont Wesleyan University alumni Actresses from Vermont American web series actresses 21st-century American actresses