Broadway Besties: Share a Big Apple Adventure with Addams and Smash BFFs Krysta Rodriguez and Wesley Taylor

Stage lovers often end up in offstage romances, but Krysta Rodriguez and Wesley Taylor became real-life BFFs instead. The two cemented their friendship during the tumultuous 2009 pre-Broadway run of The Addams Family, in which she created the role of dour Wednesday Addams and he played straight-arrow boyfriend Lucas Beineke. Three years later, Rodriguez and Taylor are thrilled to be working together again, this time on Smash. In season two of the NBC drama, she plays Katharine McPhee’s roommate, and he’ll be in the musical ensemble. After giving thoughtful answers to our Broadway Besties questionnaire, the talented twosome spent the day exploring the Theater District and Columbus Circle with Broadway.com photographer Jenny Anderson.

Check out our exclusive photo gallery of Krista and Wesley!

How and when did you meet your BFF?
Wesley: We met for a second auditioning for The Addams Family in the early workshop stages, where she got the part and I didn't...but I had my first real conversation with her at the closing night party of Spring Awakening at Bond 45.
Krysta: We met at the audition for Addams Family. We had to be there for hours being paired up. Oddly enough, Wes didn't get the role that time!

What was your first impression of each other?
Wesley: I remember seeing her sandwiched between these two boys that were also up for Lucas in Addams. I thought she must be really popular and cool, and I felt like the chubby girl eating cake in the corner.
Krysta: My first impression of Wes was that he was super confident. I was also outside the room for his audition and I could hear him singing very high and loud. I remember being impressed by his voice. He was quite intriguing.

When was the moment you knew it was BFF material?
Wesley: We were out of town [with Addams Family] in Chicago's deadly winter, and there were a lot of traumatic events circulating our show and our personal lives. In all seriousness, she became my best friend during all of that. I needed her, and she was there for me. During our two years working opposite each other, we became each other’s therapists.
Krysta: I knew pretty early on. We had a two-week Addams workshop, and right off the bat, we had to do these intimate acting exercises. We were kissing, like, 30 seconds in! We were able to be really goofy with each other but also help each other in crisis. We talked about everything and laughed a ton. We knew we were in for a long road together so we hopped on board right away.

Name three adjectives to describe your BFF.
Wesley: Prodigious, passionate, and dead sexy.
Krysta: Talented, ridiculous, entrepreneur.

What do you call each other?
Wesley: One of my friends hit on her at this bar a couple years ago. He was drunk and kept calling her Kristie instead of Krysta. I like to imitate his voice and call her Kristie. 
Krysta: I just call him Wes.

If you formed a band together, what would its name be?
Wesley: Krysta would be the lead singer. I would be the lead singer. We wouldn't be in a band together (snap!).
Krysta: The Bodily Functions. We talk about those a lot!

What’s the best gift your BFF ever got you?
Wesley: She bought us tickets to the So You Think You Can Dance tour, and we went to Jersey to see it. We were the oldest people there.
Krysta: One year for Valentine’s Day, he made me the sweetest video of pics of us. It was super-thoughtful and fun. He knows I like to make a big deal out of holidays.

What should the title of your BFF’s memoir be?
Wesley: Krysta Rodriguez: A Life Without Caffeine
Krysta: Wesley Taylor: Stripped, because he can never keep his clothes on.

If you could be in any show together, what would it be?
Wesley: Cabaret: Sally and Emcee.
Krysta: Hands down Cabaret. Sally and the Emcee. Who wouldn't want to see that?! Although Broadway.com readers voted for us to be the lesbian and the fat kid in the musical version of Mean Girls, so...

What annoying habits do you find adorable in your BFF?
Wesley: How do I answer this question without getting in trouble? I'll play it safe with “competitive gamer.”
Krysta: He always, ALWAYS puts his foot in his mouth. One time when we were in Chicago, he told a reporter about me, and I quote, “This one always has a hot dog in her mouth.” When I hit him for making my love of American cuisine sound obscene, he said, “No! Cuz you eat a lot!” They used the quote in the article. Thanks Wes.

What trait do you admire most about each other?
Wesley: I admire her strength as an actor. She’s magnetic and unmistakable.
Krysta: I admire a lot of things about Wes! First off, I truly think he is an extraordinary actor. I’m always surprised and impressed by his talent. And I think people have yet to see all he has to offer. I also admire his go-getter attitude. He makes so many things happen for himself that most people would say are too hard or impossible. He never believes those things, and it almost always pays off.

Who is your friend’s celebrity equivalent and why?
Wesley: Easy: Courteney Cox during the Friends years.
Krysta: This may sound weird, but Ty Burrell. He’s got the same kind of hilarious humor. That sort of adorable, whiny, hopeless lovability. Accident prone, but always comes out on top. But he has the dashing good looks of Orlando Bloom 

What about your BFF makes you jealous?
Wesley: Her budget system! She is very good with her money, and I like to buy things.
Krysta: His soft skin. He has the softest back of any person on the planet. Ooh, that's a nickname I call him sometimes: Dolphin Back.

I can always count on my BFF to…
Wesley: …listen and know every dirty detail of my life and never judge any of it.
Krysta: …make me laugh. And let me complain. Also, I can tell him anything and vice versa. We literally talk about EVERYTHING. It’s intimidating to our significant others. Their secrets aren’t safe!