Photo Flash: Laura Benanti at Broadway Artists Alliance

Tony Award Winner, Laura Benanti, delighted the students of Broadway Artists Alliance's Summer Intensive program with a surprise visit this past Thursday! Benanti, who recently finished up a successful run of She Loves Me (2016 Tony Nomination for Leading Actress in a Musical), was as inciteful and entertaining off stage as she is on, during her Q&A with these aspiring young professionals. Scroll down for photos!

Benanti captivated the Broadway Artists Alliance students with stories of her first ever Broadway audition, experiences playing famous ingenues and the intricacies of acting for both stage and screen. She recalled her Broadway debut at 17 in The Sound of Music, and shared experiences from among the nine Broadway shows that followed, including Gypsy for which she won the 2008 Tony Award! She explained how she found her niche in the industry being a soprano but still seeing the world through a comedic lens. Benanti inspired students not to just emulate their favorite stars, but instead to bring parts of themselves to the roles they dream of playing

Recently starring as Amalia in She Loves Me, Benanti cited this as one of the most vocally demanding but enjoyable roles she has played. Benanti recently appeared on both CBS's Supergirl and ABC's Nashville, and spoke of the differences in acting styles from live stage to screen. Revealing one of her outstanding dream roles to be Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, Benanti expressed her gratitude at having already starred in some of Broadway's most beloved revivals, which have earned her five Tony nominations.

Broadway Artists Alliance, founded with the goal of providing professional-level training to talented young artists from across the globe, enlists the expertise of Broadway performers, Tony Award winners, and top industry professionals. Students enjoy a wide range of classes including vocal training, song interpretation, scene study, on camera technique, and Broadway dance styles. BAA offers four Summer Intensive Sessions and one Winter Workshop for students ages 10-21, BAA Junior for students ages 6-10, and a College Audition Workshop for high school Juniors and Seniors who will be auditioning for Musical Theatre and Acting degree programs.

Broadway Artists Alliance's roster of master class instructors and guest speakers includes Susan Blackwell, Stephanie J. Block, Sierra Boggess, Christian Borle, Alex Brightman, Jason Robert Brown, Andrea Burns, Norbert Leo Butz, Carolee Carmello, Matt Cavenaugh, Michael Cerveris, Adam Chanler-Berat, Jenn Colella, Gabriel Ebert, Eden Espinosa, Michelle Federer, Katie Finneran, Sutton Foster, John Gallagher Jr., Alexander Gemignani, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Jonathan Groff, Lena Hall, Douglas Hodge, Bill Irwin, Christopher Jackson, Nikki M. James, Gregory Jbara, Adam Kantor, Judy Kaye, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Beth Leavel, Norm Lewis, Andrea Martin, Lindsay Mendez, Lea Michele, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jessie Mueller, Bebe Neuwirth, Karen Olivo, Laura Osnes, Billy Porter, Alice Ripley, Lea Salonga, Stephen Schwartz, Duncan Sheik, Will Swenson, Marc Shaiman, Aaron Tveit, Noah Weisberg, LiLlias White, Scott Wittman, John Lloyd Young, and many more.

For more information or to register, visit www.broadwayartistsalliance.org.

Check out photos below:

Photo credit: Laura McBride