Laura Benanti on Embracing Comedy and Getting Inside Melania Trump’s Head
Laura Benanti has been nominated for five Tony Awards (with one win) and appeared in dozens of TV shows and movies since making her Broadway debut at 19 years old as Maria in The Sound of Music. But as the title of her new solo stage show attests, she still reminds herself on a daily basis that “nobody cares” about her many accomplishments.
In this episode of The Last Laugh podcast, Benanti talks about mining her most embarrassing life stories for musical comedy in her new show, which returns to the New York stage and premieres on Audible next month. She also reveals how playing Melania Trump on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert finally made people take her “seriously” as a comedic actress and what she thinks is going through the former first lady’s head as her husband stands trial for paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels.
When I ask Benanti about the bold decision to call her new show Nobody Cares, she admits it stems from a fear of indifference from the industry that has provided her livelihood for more than 25 years. “I know other actors who sort of feel similarly where you’re like, what else do I need to do before I am anointed? When do I get my fucking crown?” she says. “And it always feels like it’s just one rung up the ladder, and then I’m going to be there. And you get there, and you’re like, ‘What? The ladder got taller?!’”