POSTED: Tuesday, June 15, 2010, 8:06 PM
Filed Under: Interview |
TV
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| Scot Robinson and hometown hero Kate Flannery make up the Lampshades. |
Who doesn't love
The Office's resident alky Meredith, who can flash her cooter and be a beacon for bad parenting yet make us love her anyway? Thanks should go to Ardmore's own
Kate Flannery, who plays the uber-creepy red head every week. She stops by tomorrow as one half of faux-lounge act the
Lampshades, but first she called us to chat about her twin, the fightin' Phils and scrapple.
City Paper: Your family owns the bar
TA Flannery's (
11 S. 21st St., 215-561-1193)? Will they come out to see you perform?
Kate Flannery: They will. They sure will. It'll be fun. It's nice because I haven't performed in Philadelphia in a long time. They've gone to New York or they've come out here. It'll be so nice
to have them actually come to the mountain rather than have the mountain come to me all the time — I have a big family.
CP: I hear you have a twin sister?
KF: I do, my sister Susie. She's a social worker and she works at Pennsylvania Hospital. She's very funny.
CP: Is she ever mistaken for one of your characters?
KF: We don't look alike but we sound alike. I feel like she does some good work. She got her Masters at Temple in Social Work and before that she worked on a reservation in New Mexico. She was really great for the kids there. I was so blown away by the work she was doing.
I feel like I'm the evil twin, you know, she's the one who's doing the really good work and I'm drinking and taking off my shirt on TV!
CP: So you're funny. Your sister's funny. Do you come from a funny family?
KF: I do. Everybody has a really good sense of humor. I have to say
the bar has always been my dad and my brother's stage. You sort of have to get a quick joke in. It's really funny.
CP: Are you a Phillies fan?
KF: I am a Phillies fan. I was so bummed when they didn't win this year. I was really, tragically, disappointed but you know I have to say, last year was amazing and
I think we can do it again.
CP: What local hotspots do you absolutely have to go to when you come home?
KF: Well
Hu-Nan Restaurant (47 E. Lancaster Ave., Ardmore, 610-642-3050) in Ardmore; it's a Chinese restaurant. I actually worked there when I was a kid. And I always have to go there when I'm home. And of course TA Flannery's.
CP: As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Did you ever think you would become a beloved character on an award winning sitcom, known for being the alcoholic sexpot?
KF: [Laughs] I always wanted to be an actress and
I wanted to be a child star and my mother was not very cooperative, but I am very very grateful to her now because she really took care of me and protected me because what I wanted was not really all that smart. I'm glad that I got the shot later in life. I feel like it was really worth the wait. It's funny. I loved comedies as a kid, and as an adult, but I feel like it really is a dream come true to be on a show with such great fans and such a great following. You know all the actresses I know coming up through the ranks, I feel like everybody wishes for a great job. But I feel like what's even better about my job is not only is it a great show, its really a kind of love, this is really the lottery. And I'm really grateful.
CP: All right well I'm going to test your love for
The Office versus the Lampshades. You are stuck on a deserted island. Which character would you rather be stuck with: Dwight (
Rainn Wilson) or Hori Pismo (
Scot Robinson of the Lampshades)?
KF: [Laughs] Wow. Well, I might pick Dwight and I'll tell you why. Hori Pismo is not very helpful. Dwight would be the bossiest pain in the neck but
Dwight knows how to survive. I mean Dwight knows how to make a fire. He knows how to send a smoke signal. He knows Morse code SOS on his pager. My vote goes for Dwight.
CP: You're a Philly girl. What aspect of your personality is most telling of your PA upbringing? What is the most "Philly" thing about you?
KF: Wow, that's a really interesting question. I guess I can't cop out and say my ability to eat scrapple.
'Cause I do love me some scrapple. I gotta tell you, I'm very pro-scrapple. I know outsiders don't get it but I love it.
[Laughs]
I think my sense of humor ... maybe its because my dad had a bar and some people may have thought it was a sad place to hang out as a kid but I loved it.
Maybe it's having a sense of humor about everything. I feel like Pennsylvanians are kind of tough and we're not particularly flashy or vain. It's the ability to see the whole room, to see everybody, not just the pretty people.
The Lampshades, Wed., June 16, 7 p.m., $20-$25, Helium Comedy Club, 2031 Sansom St., 215-496-9001, heliumcomedy.com.
