Laura Benanti - Let Me Entertain You!

By Dierde Campbell

Barbara Cook's Spotlight Series at Washington DC's Kennedy Center brought Tony Award-Winner, Laura Benanti to it's Terrace Theatre on Friday night. The series has presented a more intimate experience with stars such as Jane Krakowski, Christine Ebersole and Karen Akers and will feature husband and wife team, Jessica Molaskey and John Pizzarelli on June 4th of this year.

Many know Benanti from her Tony-nominated turns in Broadway's Swing!, Into the Woods and of course her Tony-Winning performance in Gypsy opposite diva Patti LuPone. Others remember her from the culty Wedding Singer and some even caught her in her performance in Christopher Durang's Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them at the Public or most recently in Lincoln Center's production of In The Next Room. But few have the opportunity to see Benanti baring it all in an intimate cabaret-type setting.

While always engaging while playing a role, Benanti has a way of connecting with her audience most impressively when it's just her, a piano and an equally-impressive sidekick/musical director (this time in the form of the Drama Desk Winner Mary-Mitchell Campbell).

Through family stories and personal histories, Benanti wove together an evening of impressive material featuring an enormous variety of songs. Standouts included reprises of songs from Ms. Benanti's career such as "Skylark," from Swing! , "On The Steps of the Palace" from Into The Woods and the clear audience favorite, "Unusual Way" from Yeston's Nine. Other highlights included a touching duet with her mother/voice teacher/former Broadway performer, Linda Wonneberger-Benanti. While a moment like this could easily prove awkward with a less-seasoned mother-performer, the two sopranos soared on Sondheim's "Children Will Listen" bringing many a tear.

Benanti let the audience in on quite a few personal moments from her childhood and the ease with which she treated the audience and her material allowed her to lead the audience wherever she wanted to go. An extraordinarily touching "Mr. Tanner" by Harry Chapin as well as a brilliantly funny "Inappropriate Medley" featuring hits from Beyonce to Bon Jovi and everything in between proved her versatility as a singer and comedienne.

While series like this can prove to be uncomfortable with performers not at ease with an intimate setting, Benanti handled it with aplomb. Recently back from filming a pilot where LuPone will be reprising the role of her Mom, hopefully we'll soon be seeing more of Laura in our living rooms every week!