Benanti performs at the Wallis in Beverly Hills this weekend and at South Coast Repertory Oct. 11. Laura Benanti is out of the woods and into a thicket that is very different from her initial Broadway base: the world of stand-up comedy. Officially, “Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares” is a “one-woman show,” but she says the only reason she shies away from calling it stand-up at all is because she respects the people who practice that on a weekly basis too much to want to claim she’s mastered that craft as an interloper.
But whatever the comedic equivalent of belting is, that’s a natural skill that Benanti is also turning out to have in her wheelhouse, as she carries the art of quip-riddled personal storytelling as well as she carries a tune. But the handful of songs she works into this current show are all original numbers, conceived in the same mostly irreverent vein as the spoken-word parts that dominate the show. Zero knowledge or prior appreciation is required of her rich history as the breakout starlet powering shows like “The Sound of Music,” “Nine,” “My Fair Lady,” “She Loves Me” and “Into the Woods.” The so-called reformed ingenue is now prepared to tackle middle-aged topics like divorce (in multiples), postpartum depression and the tricky art of balancing self-deprecation and personal pride, via deft writing that suggests maybe she ought to be co-writing her own musical comedies, if she takes a pause from this confessional vein.
Variety spoke with Benanti about why “Nobody Cares” has been so rewarding for someone who has already received two and a half decades of applause for her stage work… and also, in a peculiar wrinkle, a lot of love (well, from some) for her portrayal of Melania Trump on “Late Night With Stephen Colbert.” The show has been a hit in New York and London, Most people would see “Nobody Cares” and think that you were a very practiced stand-up comedy person, which was never your history prior to conceiving this. it’s been something that was buried latent in you for a long time. Not that this strictly counts as stand-up comedy, but certainly a lot of it is in that sphere or involves those skills. Yeah, I would say this show is most akin to stand-up, for sure, and with some good musical comedy in there as well.
We have five original songs that I co-wrote with Todd Almond, who’s on stage with me. It’s certainly comedic storytelling. Something I talk about is, I really want people to understand that this is not like a cabaret.
This is not Broadway songs or Broadway music in any way. There’s adult content; there’s foul language. It’s not what people might expect of me if they only know me from my roles on Broadway.
Looking at previous interviews you’ve done when you went out with this show, you get those disclaimers in pretty early toward the start of most interviews. You really want to get that message out. That must come from having had a few surprised customers.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
