The hills are alive with the sound of 34-year-bold Broadway vet Laura Benanti’s voice and wit, so Go On and find out how quickly her comically delivered side eye will send you running to see Nurse Jackie. A Woman on the Verge of stardom, her upcoming show at The Cabaret, is sure to be anything but a Royal Pain. Here, five reasons you should venture with her Into the Woods—er, Columbia Club.
1. Benanti has shared the stage with numerous Broadway stars, including Patti LuPone. Making a name for herself in the Arthur Laurents revival of Gypsy, she racked up a Tony Award, two Drama Desk awards, and two Outer Critics Circle awards, adding to her total of 16 nominations to date for her stage work.
2. She kills it on Twitter.
Eventually the American flag will just be a group selfie of 23 year old girls doing duck lips
— Laura Benanti (@LauraBenanti) April 19, 2014
“She is dead inside” ~anyone who has ever tried to tickle me
— Laura Benanti (@LauraBenanti) April 28, 2014
If you see someone whistling while they walk down the street they are either a free spirited lover of life or about to murder you.
— Laura Benanti (@LauraBenanti) May 12, 2014
3. She shares a similar television curse to Kristen Chenoweth, working on great shows gone well before their time.
4. Aside from Broadway great Audra McDonald, Benanti’s range of side-eye glances were reason enough to suffer through Carrie Underwood’s cardboard-stiff portrayal of Maria von Trapp in NBC’s live-action The Sound of Music.
5. Like the rest of the world, she loves Beyonce; unlike the rest of the world, she has the pipes to rework a Destiny’s classic:
BONUS: She has a new album, In Constant Search of the Right Kind of Attention.
Laura Benanti at The Cabaret. The Columbia Club, 121 Monument Circle, Suite 516, 317-275-1169. June 5–7, 8 p.m. Tickets $35 to $65. thecabaret.org
