| Full given name: |
Laura Ilene Benanti |
| Hometown: |
Kinnelon, NJ (but I was born in Manhattan) |
| Zodiac sign: |
Cancer (and I really am...through and through) |
| Audition song: |
I sang "One More Kiss" from Follies for my first Broadway audition (The Sound of Music) |
| Special skills: |
I don't know. I am learning how to cook and I am actually pretty good so maybe that? |
| First Broadway show ever saw: |
The first Broadway show I remember seeing is The Tap Dance Kid. |
| If you could go back in time and catch any Broadway show, what would it be? |
I would go back in time and see all the original R and H shows...and I would want to see the original West Side Story and Gypsy. |
| Current show you have been recommending to friends: |
August: Osage County. I didn't want it to be over. It is the most astonishing thing I have seen in years. That ensemble of actors went beyond any "acting" I have ever seen. |
| Favorite showtune: |
My favorite show tune is literally anything that Stephen Sondheim ever wrote. I am not kissing up. It is true! |
| MAC or PC? |
MAC...but it is basically a glorified typewriter to me. I am not computer literate. |
| One CD you couldn't live without: |
Tori Amos..."Little Earthquakes." |
| Last book you read: |
Arthur Laurents "Original Story By." Again...not kissing up...totally true. |
| Must-see TV show: |
"Pushing Daisies." I love that show. Oh...and "Eli Stone."  |
| Favorite card/board game: |
A variation on solitaire that my grandma taught me. I call her mamoo and I call the game mamoootsie. Favorite board game is "Catch Phrase" my entire family is obsessed. |
| Pop culture guilty pleasure: |
Trashy magazines. They are terrible but I convince myself that it all evens out because I also read the New York Times. Much like I convince myself that it's okay to eat French fries because I also eat carrots. |
| First stage kiss: |
My first professional stage kiss was Richard Chamberlain. Not to shabby huh? |
| Favorite pre-/post-show meal: |
Pre-show: carrots. Post-show: French fries  |
| How you got your Equity card: |
Doing Jane Eyre (not the musical) and Man of La Mancha at the wonderful Papermill Playhouse. |
| Worst flubbed line: |
When I went up during "Do Re Mi" and a 6-year-old fed me my lines...."A needle pulling thread." Pretty embarrassing. |
| Who have you played on "Law & Order"? Which edition? |
I have NEVER been on "Law & Order." Seriously, I hope they read this. I think the time has come. |
| Worst costume ever: |
Lets just say that the 80's weren't really my decade. |
| Favorite cereal: |
I eat a weird hot cereal called Quinoa flakes. It's actually really good. |
| Who would play you in the movie? |
My sister Marielle. She would be great. |
| Worst job you ever had: |
Shoveling manure into bags at the farmers market in my town when I was 17. Hysterically enough I was on Broadway three months after that job ended. During tech, I always remind myself that I could be shoveling poo. |
| What leading lady role have you been dying to play? |
I have always wanted to play Eliza in My Fair Lady, Fiona in Brigadoon and Fosca in Passion. Not to sound cheesy but playing Louise in Gypsy is a dream. Please don't wake me. |
