Photos: Highlights from LAURA AND LINDA BENANTI: MOTHERS KNOW BEST at 54 Below

The vintage warm walls of 54 Below have soaked in many great sounds of Broadway singer/actors for the last 13 years, and if those walls could talk they would be telling you that the voices of Laura and Linda Benanti are some of the finest they’ve ever heard. The often-used phrase “you have to have good genes” has never been more relevant to me. In fact, I spent some of the evening closing eyes and testing my ability to identify if it was mother or daughter singing during their duets. BTW, eyes open or closed, it’s Melania Trump on stage when Laura does her famous imitation of The First Lady. Billy Stritch was at the piano with some vocal harmonizing to make this perfect show even more perfect.  Fortunately I kept my eyes open long enough to take the photos below. 

About “Laura and Linda Benanti: Mothers Know Best”

Back by popular demand! Tony Award winner Laura Benanti joins forces with her mother, Linda, in a touchingly humorous show about mother-daugher relationships. Music direction by Billy Stritch.

Raised in Kinnelon New Jersey, Laura jumped right from the lead in her high school musical Hello, Dolly! To Maria in the 1998 Broadway revival of The Sound of Music. She has since starred in 11 Broadway shows and has been nominated for 5 Tony Awards, winning one Tony Award for her role as Louise in Gypsy (2008). A star of both stage and screen, Laura has an impressive television and film roster.

Her mother, Linda Benanti, was part of the national tour of The Odyssey with Yul Brynner and performed off-Broadway and regionally as The Girl in The Fantasticks, Guinevere in Camelot, Marian in The Music Man, Anne in A Little Night Music, Nanette in No, No, Nanette, Saran in Guys and Dolls, and many others. After retiring from performing, Linda opened a vocal studio in Kinnelon, New Jersey. From this studio, Linda teaches everyone from local students to Broadway stars. Linda is thrilled to be out of retirement and performing across the country with her daughter!

Learn more about Laura Benanti, her other upcoming shows, and where to follow her online at www.laurabenanti.com

There are a handful of tickets left to the final performance of Mothers Know Best tonight, Saturday July 19 at 7 pm. Get them on 54 Below's website here.

Linda Benanti & Laura Benanti

Linda Benanti, Billy Stritch, Laura Benanti

Laura Benanti & Linda Benanti

Laura Benanti

Laura Benanti & Linda Benanti

Laura Benanti

Laura Benanti

Linda Benanti

Linda Benanti

Billy Stritch & Laura Benanti

Billy Stritch

Laura Benanti ( Melania Trump)

Laura Benanti (Melania Trump)

Laura Benanti & Linda Benanti

Laura Benanti & Linda Benanti

Billy Stritch

Laura Benanti & Linda Benanti

Laura Benanti & Linda Benanti

Billy Stritch, Marilyn Maye, Laura Benanti

Billy Stritch & Marilyn Maye

Linda Benanti & Eda Sorokoff