This weekend, the “glamorously witty” Tony Award winner, TV and film actor Laura Benanti will perform her one-woman show (which includes longtime musical director and collaborator Todd Almond) at the Umbrella Arts Center in Concord, MA. Theater Mirror’s Mike Hoban spoke with Laura to learn more about her and what audiences can expect at ‘An Evening with Laura Benanti’. The show spans two nights and limited tickets were still available at press time. For tickets and information, go to: https://theumbrellaarts.org/performing-arts/concerts
TM: I have to confess that I don’t get to New York that often, so I’m more familiar with you as ‘Melania Trump’ from Late Night with Steven Colbert than from Broadway shows. I don’t know if musical theater fans are aware of just how funny you are. Have you trained in comedy through improv or something? Because you’ve clearly got the gift…
Laura: No. I wasn’t really trained in anything (laughs). I came into the business when I was 18, so I wasn’t a child actor or anything like that. My mom was my voice teacher, but I mostly learned on the job, which I now realize is very rare, so I was very lucky in that respect. As far as comedy goes, I think it’s just that I see the world through the lens of humor, and that’s how I get through life. So to be able to sort of parlay that into helping other people get through life is just a joy for me. It’s one of the things I really love to do.
TM: Let’s back up. Did you say didn’t do much theater until you were 18?
Laura: I was able to do my high school musical and one community theater show a year if my grades stayed up, but I was not allowed to audition for anything or become a professional actor until I was 18. The very first job I auditioned for was the Broadway revival of the Sound of Music, for the role of Liesl. They ended up hiring me as an understudy for Maria, which is kinda crazy, and then I took over the role right when I turned 19. I was playing opposite Richard Chamberlain, so that was certainly a crazy way to start a career. It was such a blessing, but it’s so unusual.
Then when I was still 19 I got a show called Swing, which was my first Tony nomination. So every time (I tried to go back to school) I thankfully would get another job. I’ve been really lucky in that way, so I’ve been able to work as an actor for 25 years now.
TM: I wouldn’t exactly call it luck…
Laura: Well I wouldn’t say it’s all luck, but I do think that it’s part of it. In some ways, I think that what I’m doing was like winning the lottery. There are millions of talented people in this world, and I have gone to community theater productions and been like, “Oh my God! This person is incredible!” and for whatever reason, they’re not doing it (at a higher level). I’ve been doing this for 25 years, so when I talk to young people about making a living at this, yes, it’s incumbent upon you to put in the work and the time and to get yourself out there, but remember, it’s usually not anything you are doing wrong if it’s not happening for you.
I think – and this definitely happens to me too – that it’s important to remember why you started doing this to begin with. Sometimes I’ll get into the space of thinking of it more as a job and less as this thing that I’m so blessed to be doing, so I remind myself to get myself back to that place of gratitude, that place of, “You are so lucky that you get to do this.” Because it’s easy to get a little disenchanted or panicky, and to forget the love.
TM: How long have you been doing ‘An Evening with Laura Benanti’?
Laura: I did my first cabaret show – I’m sorry, the term ‘cabaret’ feels so archaic, and I feel like it makes people think of someone draped across a piano, all in sequins and being very serious, and that is not what this show is at all. I think any review that’s ever come out about my show describes it as standup comedy and music, and that’s what it is. When I did my first ever solo show, I was 23, so I’ve been doing this for quite some time, but the humor has evolved. Allowing myself to be myself took practice. As actors, we’re used to being a character and filling that role. So I say to myself, “I am allowed to be as silly as I really am.” People are here because they don’t only want to hear me sing, they’re interested in what I have to say, and I can make this as entertaining as possible. It doesn’t have to feel like taking musical theater medicine (laughs). It should be fun and I want it to feel like a conversation.
The greatest compliments that people give me about the show are, “I feel like we’re best friends now,” and that’s great because I feel the same. The other is “I felt like we were in your living room and we were just talking.” And that’s how I want it to feel. Always. As I’ve gotten more confident in who I am, I’m more confident bringing that to the stage, and when you see a person on stage clearly loving what they do in an easy way, you can relax and have a good time.
TM: So do you do a lot of riffing or do you have set stories that you share?
Laura: I like to take side streets, but I come in with a general guideline of what I’m going do and say. I love improv, and what I love about a live audience is that it’s always different. It’s never the same show because it’s rarely the same people. I just come in with a map and then go all over the place, and one of my favorite things to do is to just be in that moment and address whatever happens. And that’s the stuff that people seem to love the most.
TM: Let’s talk about some of the musical aspects of the show. What can people expect to hear?
Laura: I’ll be singing songs from shows that I’ve done on Broadway, especially ones that people associate me with, like songs from My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music. But I try to cover more than just musical theater, although I know that’s what people are primarily interested in, so I’ll do things like “Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell. My music director Todd Almond and I have been working together for 20 years, and he’s just such a great musician, actor, and performer in his own right, so we really have a beautiful time together. It’s an easy collaboration, meaning that we’re really at ease with each other. Sometimes when I’m doing the show, I’ll look out in the audience and see a husband that has clearly been dragged here. But by three songs in, he’s laughing and having a great time, and I’m like, “Yes! I did it!” and it feels great. I also look out at the audience and I see all these generations – women my age with their daughters and their mothers. And to be able to touch and engage with people just feels like a real win for me.
