Laura Benanti Kicks Off Tony Weekend with Concert at Groton Hill Music Center

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Tony Award-winner brings "An Evening with Laura Benanti" to Groton on June 6

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Laura Benanti is in for a busy Tony weekend.

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On Sunday, June 7, the popular performer will join Tituss Burgess to co-host “The Tony Awards: Act One,” a live pre-show, which will include the presentation of the first round of this year’s Tony Awards, airing free on Pluto TV.

The night before, on Saturday, June 6, Benanti – a Tony Award winner for the 2008 revival of “Gypsy” and a nominee for “Swing!” (2000), “Into the Woods” (2002), “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” (2010), and the 2016 revival of “She Loves Me” – will make her concert debut at Groton Hill Music Center in Groton, Massachusetts, in “An Evening with Laura Benanti .”

The New York City-born singer and actor made her Broadway debut as an ensemble member and later as Maria Von Trapp in the 1998 revival of “ The Sound of Music ,” and has also appeared in the 2003 revival of “ Nine ,” “ In the Next Room ” (2009), “ Meteor Shower ” (2017), and the 2018 Lincoln Center Theater revival of “ My Fair Lady .”

In addition, Benanti, an acclaimed film and television actor, can currently be seen as Cindy on the Paramount+ series “Mayor of Kingstown,” starring opposite Jeremy Renner . She also has television fans from her multi-episode stints on “Younger,” “Gossip Girl,” “Nashville,” and “The Gilded Age” and her recurring portrayal of Melania Trump on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert .” Her feature film credits include 2020’s “Worth,” 2023’s “No Hard Feelings,” and 2024’s “Goodrich.”

This fall, Benanti will bring her original one-woman comedy show, “ Laura Benanti : Nobody Cares,” direct from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and two sold-out off-Broadway runs at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre, to The Huntington in Boston, where the North American tour will play the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA from October 22 to 25, 2026.

By Zoom recently from her home in New Jersey, Benanti – who has two daughters, Ella, 9, and Louisa, 3, with husband Patrick Brown – discussed her upcoming concert in Groton, and more.

What can audiences look forward to when they see you in concert?

I think the thing that I hear most often after my shows is that people feel like we’re friends. And that’s really what I want to communicate. Obviously, I want to sing well, and I want them to enjoy the music, but ultimately, I want it to feel like everybody’s in my living room and we’re just hanging out and chatting, and I’m singing songs for them. It’s not stuffy, it’s not what some people might think about when they think of one-person shows or cabarets. It’s very laid back.

Do you enjoy connecting with the audience?

Yes, that’s my favorite part of giving a concert, connecting with the audience. When I was younger, I wasn’t comfortable performing outside of a role. As I got older, though, I realized my favorite thing to do is these shows, because I get to embody a character within the songs but then in between, I get to be myself.

What was that realization like for you as a performer?

It was a very long time ago, because the first concert I ever gave was probably over 20 years ago now. I took to it very quickly, though, and I remember loving it right away. It doesn’t intimidate me, because being myself with people is my favorite thing to do.

Can you talk a little about your set list for these shows?

I sing songs from “My Fair Lady,” “She Loves Me,” “The Sound of Music,” and “Nine.” And I also do a Joni Mitchell song. So it’s a lovely evening of Broadway and other popular music.

What’s your favorite Broadway show of those that you’ve done ?

I have been so incredibly lucky. I’ve played basically every single one of my dream roles. For me, “Gypsy” was such a remarkable experience and “The Sound of Music” was obviously another, because I was a teenager starring on Broadway. That changed my life. And then there was “My Fair Lady,” and “She Loves Me.” I mean I often think of playing Louise in “Gypsy” as my favorite Broadway experience, but I almost feel like I can’t choose just one. Every experience has been fulfilling and remarkable.

Is there a show that has you thinking, “I’ve got to get my hands on that”?

I’ve always loved Stephen Sondheim and I got to sing his amazing lyrics for “Gypsy,” but the one show that I really want to do is “A Little Night Music.” I played Anne Egerman , opposite Victor Garber , at the Los Angeles Opera in 2004. What I would still love to do, though, would be to play Desiree Armfeldt and sing “Send in the Clowns” on Broadway.

On the subject of another character, how long have you been playing Melania Trump?

It’s been ten years. I was on the Colbert show promoting “She Loves Me” and he was like, “Has anybody ever told you that you look a little bit like Melania?” I think he meant it as a compliment, so I just sort of made that face. I thought nothing of it, and then a few months later Melania gave her famously plagiarized Michelle Obama speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention. The next morning, I woke up to a flurry of text messages, phone calls, and emails from the Colbert show, asking if I could put together a Melania Trump impression.

At that point, I don’t think I’d ever even heard her speak but I said, “I think so.” Then I took a five-hour train ride to the city, went straight to the Ed Sullivan Theatre, watched her Convention speech, and listened closely to her speaking patterns. And that night I did her for the first time on the show.

Will you reprise your spot-on portrayal of the First Lady now that the Colbert show has gone off the air?

I just may, and maybe I’ll even bring her to Groton. When I play Melania, a lot of it’s about the wig and makeup. I have a wig that sometimes I bring on stage to do her, but usually I just turn into her. You might say, Melania is always in the wings, ready to go

Photo caption: Tony Award winner Laura Benanti will appear in concert June 6 at the Groton Hill Music Center in Groton, Massachusetts. Photo courtesy of Groton Hill.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/boston/article/Interview-Laura-Benanti-begins-a-busy-Tony-Weekend-with-a-Concert-at-Groton-Hill-Music-Center-20260530)._