Bay Area Cabaret Closes Season with Laura Benanti Concert Tonight, 5/12

Bay Area Cabaret closes its 2011-2012 season with Tony Award winning actress/singer Laura Benanti. Benanti makes her San Francisco cabaret debut tonight, May 12, 2012 with her solo show Let Me Entertain You, which showcases her wide musical and comedic repertoire.

This special one-night-only engagement takes place at the historic Venetian Room of The Fairmont San Francisco (950 Mason Street) 8pm Saturday May 12, 2012. Opening the evening will be charismatic and talented 2011 Bay Area Teen Idol winner Robert Conte Thornton, making his Bay Area Cabaret debut. Tickets ($45 general / $40 subscribers) are available at www.bayareacabaret.org or by phone at City Box Office (415) 392-4400.

Benanti’s performance showcases her extensive repertoire, swinging from Sondheim and other Broadway standards to Bob Dylan and Vanilla Ice (among others). A versatile performer, Benanti won the Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for her role as “Louise/Gypsy Rose Lee” in the Broadway revival of Gypsy, with Patti LuPone as “Mama Rose.” Other Broadway credits include Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown (Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards, Tony and Drama League nominations), Into The Woods (Tony, Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, and LA Ovation nominations), Nine (opposite Antonio Banderas, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League nominations) and Swing! (Tony nomination). Ms. Benanti has appeared in film, TV, and numerous concerts around the country, including the San Francisco Symphony’s Gershwin program last summer, and received rave reviews for her recent performances at Feinstein's and Lincoln Center in New York.

For patrons of Bay Area Cabaret, The Fairmont San Francisco offers a three-course dinner in the Laurel Court Restaurant & Bar for $40 (plus tax and tip), plus free parking for all who dine in the Laurel Court Restaurant & Bar. For more information, visit www.bayareacabaret.org.