Laura Benanti Would 'Give Left Pinky' to Star in MY FAIR LADY Revival

As BWW recently reported, next spring, Lincoln Center Theater will mount a new production of Lerner & Loewe's MY FAIR LADY, the first Broadway production of the classic musical in 25 years. Directed by Bartlett Sher, the production will begin previews Thursday, March 22, 2018 and open on Thursday, April 19, 2018 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater.

In an interview with ET this week, Broadway's Laura Benanti confessed that she would be thrilled to take on the iconic role of Eliza Doolittle in the highly-anticipated revival. "I would love that," said the actress, "but I have a feeling they're going to be going a different way. But I would literally give my left pinky to do it."

Benanti also spoke about her recent appearances on CBS's LATE SHOW, in which she gave a dead-on impression of First Lady Melania Trump. Asked if she will make an encore appearance on the late night talk show in the future she shares, "I haven't been practicing, but I've been watching and writing. There's certainly much to spoof. I'm hoping that [Stephen] Colbert will have me back on [his] show soon. The last time I was there was Election Day, so I would love to go back and redeem myself."

Read the interview in full here.

Watch Benanti's LATE SHOW appearance as Melania Trump below:

Benanti and her mother Linda will apppear in a two-show concert titled 'Linda and Laura Benanti: The Story Goes On' at 54 Below on May 5-6. Last year, the talented actress received a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her role as Amalia in Roundabout Theater Company's SHE LOVES ME. She can currently be seen playing the role of Alura Zor-El in the CBS Action Drama, "Supergirl." In addition to television work and her critically acclaimed performance as Elsa Schrader in NBC's The Sound of Music LIVE, Ms. Benanti is a highly celebrated, four time Tony Award-nominated stage actress who took Broadway by storm at the age of 18. She received a Drama Desk award, Outer Critics Circle Award and a Tony Award Nomination for her starring role in the Broadway production of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown for Lincoln Center where she also starred in the Broadway production of Sarah Ruhl's In the Next Room or The Vibrator Play.

Ms. Benanti earned the 2008 Tony Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical, a Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award for her revelatory portrayal of Gypsy Rose Lee in Gypsy opposite Patti LuPone and directed by Arthur Laurents. Her other Broadway roles include The Wedding Singer, Nine, starring Antonio Banderas, her Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award-nominated performance of Cinderella in Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods and her sultry Tony nominated turn in Swing!

Ms. Benanti made her Broadway debut as Maria in The Sound of Music opposite Richard Chamberlain. Other distinguished theater performances include the Public Theater's production of Christopher Durang'sWhy Torture is Wrong and the People Who Love Them, Perdita in The Winter's Tale at the Williamstown Theatre Festival opposite Kate Burton, Anne in A Little Night Music at the L.A. Opera opposite Victor Garber, Eileen in Wonderful Townopposite Donna Murphy and most recently her portrayal of Rosabella in The Most Happy Fella, both for City Center Encores! Ms. Benanti completed a week-long engagement at the popular New York cabaret club, 54 Below, for which The New York Times hailed her as a "supremely confident" performer whose "bright, full soprano, with its semioperatic heft, can go almost anywhere." In September 2013, she released her debut album, "In Constant Search of the Right Kind of Attention: Live at 54 BELOW" on Broadway Records to ecstatic reviews. Laura currently performs her concerts in venues around the country and even recently performed for the President and First Lady of the United States at both the Fords Gala and THE KENNEDY CENTER HONORS in Washington DC. In 2014, she joined the cast of ABC's hit series "Nashville" guest-starring as songbird Sadie Stone. Laura also appeared in recurring roles on CBS's "The Good Wife" and HBO's "Nurse Jackie." Laura's past television credits include a starring role in the NBC series "The Playboy Club" and "Go On" opposite Matthew Perry. She also starred in the F/X original series "Starved." Ms. Benanti recurred on "Law and Order: SVU," "Royal Pains," "Eli Stone," and had appearances on "The Big C" and "Elementary." She currently resides in Manhattan.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos