Video: Laura Benanti Talks MAYOR OF KINGSTOWN Role, Averted Broadway Strike

Tony Award winner Laura Benanti recently stopped by TODAY to discuss joining Season Four of the crime series Mayor of Kingstown. During her visit, she also spoke about the recent agreements between Actors' Equity, AFM Local 802, and the Broadway League, which averted a potential Broadway strike for working actors and musicians. 

"I'm not on Broadway right now, but it sure is a relief for all of my friends and everybody who wants to come during the holidays and see a musical," the performer commented. "Nobody wants to be striking, ever," she added, noting that workers simply want to do their jobs and receive fair wages.

In the new season of Mayor of Kingstown, Benanti plays correctional officer Cindy Stephens, which she says was a departure from her usual characters. "I got there thinking 'This is going to be rough,' but it's a great show and it's something I've never done before. [I've] never played a character like this... It's a really easy set to be on except that you're in a prison all the time." Watch the interview, where she also reveals the difficulties she had with fake blood while filming. The fourth season of Mayor of Kingstown premieres on Paramount+ on Sunday, October 26th.

Earlier this week, Benanti reprised her fan-favorite performance as Melania Trump on an episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, addressing some of the most-discussed developments that have taken place since the beginning of the President's second term. Watch her appearance here.

About Laura Benanti 

Tony Award-winner and five-time Tony Award nominee Laura Benanti is a highly celebrated stage and screen actress. Ms. Benanti has an impressive television roster including Hulu’s “Life & Beth,” created by and starring Amy Schumer, the hit series “Younger,” HBO Max’s “Gossip Girl” reboot, and the second season of HBO Max’s “The Gilded Age.” Other television credits include guest starring roles on Cinema Toast, created by Jeff Baena and produced by the Duplass Brothers, Ziwe featuring comedian Ziwe Fumudoh, both for Showtime, as well as “Inside Amy Schumer” on Paramount+ (among many others). Benanti has also made widely acclaimed appearances on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” as Melania Trump. Additionally, Benanti created and executive produced the HBO Max special Homeschool Musical: Class Of 2020 based on her viral social media movement: #sunshinesongs.

In film, Benanti starred in Netflix’s Worth opposite Michael Keaton, Stanley Tucci and Amy Ryan, Here Today opposite Billy Crystal and Tiffany Haddish, and was featured in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tick, Tick…Boom!.

In the theater, Ms. Benanti took Broadway by storm at the age of 18 as Maria in The Sound of Music and has subsequently starred in ten more Broadway shows (musicals, straight plays, comedies, and dramas) including Into The Woods, Nine (opposite Antonio Banderas), Gypsy (for which she won a Tony Award), She Loves Me, My Fair Lady, and Steve Martin’s Meteor Shower opposite Amy Schumer and Keegan-Michael Key.

Additionally, Benanti co-authored a comedic board book for mothers entitled M is for MAMA (and also Merlot): A Modern Mom’s ABCs, co-written with Metropolitan Opera Star Kate Mangiameli. She released a self-titled studio album for Sony Music Masterworks and tours the world performing solo concerts alongside highly celebrated musicians and orchestras.

Ms. Benanti's recent films include No Hard Feelings opposite Matthew Broderick, Goodrich opposite Michael Keaton and Mila Kunis, Everything’s Going To Be Great opposite Bryan Cranston, and The Shade, based on the award-winning short of the same name. Her comedy show, Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares, is now available to stream on Audible.