BWW Interviews: Nashville's FUNNY Fannys: Laura Thomas Sonn

In the upcoming concert version of Funny Girl, set for April 29-May 1 at Franklin's Boiler Room Theatre, director Scott Logsdon has cast 12 very different, very funny and somehow uniquely qualified women to take on the iconic role of Fanny Brice, first brought to national, then worldwide, acclaim by the inimitable Barbra Streisand. We're giving you a chance to get to know all of Nashville's Funny Fannys, one by one, and today we were forced to sit down with Laura Thomas Sonn, the very personification of diva - as everyone in town knows, she's so demanding and rude (that gracious, kind and sweet act is just that: an act! I have the bruises from the phone she threw at me when last I saw her - and she was onstage at the time and I was in the audience, but didn't have my eyes cast downward when she looked in my direction) and not at all one of the most beautiful women you've ever seen! (I bet that'll get those Fannys in an uproar, just in time for our final two interviews this week). So, read on, gentle readers...oh, yes, she is most definitely my favorite. Well, today.

Okay, just the facts, ma'am: Where did you grow up? Right here in Franklin, Tennessee!

What song do you sing in Funny Girl in Concert? "I Want to be Seen With You" with the ever-charming Bakari King.

You look familiar to me, y'know...what are your favorite Nashville roles I may have seen you in or the little people might recall? Oh gosh, how do I choose?? I'd have to say Luisa in The Fantasticks, because I adore that show and that story; Belle in Beauty and the Beast because honestly, who doesn't want to be a Disney princess? And most recently, Babe in Crimes of the Heart, because we all have a little crazy in us.

Oh yeah, I saw that show...you were the one who wasn't Evelyn Brush, Melodie Madden Adams or Sondra Morton...so who is your comic heroine in film, TV and/or theater? I've always loved Tina Fey's writing and comedic timing. I also adore Megan Mullally. For me, it doesn't get much better than her Karen on Will & Grace. And truly, I am simply amazed when watching Megan Murphy Chambers on stage. Brilliant, that one.

We really need to stir up some trouble, so tell me, who's your favorite Fanny you're sharing the stage with? Are you kidding? They are all so lovely and stunning and charming and funny, I'm lucky to share the stage with just one of them! I have been known to have some crazy fun with Cori Laemmel, Heather Trabucco, Corrie Miller and Sondra Morton in the past...but I am so looking forward to having equally as crazy a time with the other ladies as well.

Listen, toots, I know you better than that, I'm sure there's someone getting under your skin, so I'm not buying it...what's the funniest thing you've ever done? I fell out of my desk while taking a spelling test in sixth grade. I went to reach for my pencil on the floor and literally turned the entire desk over. It was an awesome middle school moment.

I think I've seen that on YouTube...what's your favorite funny movie? I know it's ridiculous, but i will never ever get tired of watching Dumb and Dumber. Maybe not my fave of all time, but definitely gets the job done. And it's easily my go-to flick for random one liners. "I fell off the jetway again...".

What's your favorite funny TV show (and please don't say Friends)? Will and Grace always makes me laugh, as does Modern Family.

Okay, that works; what's your favorite funny play or musical? I remember loving Noises Off! after seeing it years ago. And I'll always have a place in my heart for Man in Chair from The Drowsy Chaperone.

Okay and now, the $64,000 question: Who's your favorite critic? Stop laughing, Laura, that's not very polite. I'm going to call your husband. Right now!

- Funny Girl in Concert. Music and lyrics by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill. Book by Isobel Lennart. Directed by Scott Logsdon. Musical direction by Jamey Green. Choreographed by Laurie Gregoire. Presented by Keeping Scores Concerts at Boiler Room Theatre, Franklin. For reservations, call the box office at (615) 794-7744.

Photo of Laura Thomas Sonn by Rick Malkin