Q&A
Aspired To Do It All
Kinnelon’s pride talks about playing Melania, witnessing baby FOMO and more
W
ho wouldn’t
want to be
Laura Benanti
right now?
Over the past
two years
alone, the Tony Award-winning
actress and singer has starred in
the Broadway shows She Loves Me
and Meteor Shower, been a regu-
lar on the TBS series The Detour,
and popped up several times as
Melania Trump on The Late Show
with Stephen Colbert. And, on the
personal front, Benanti, 39, and her
husband, Patrick Brown, welcomed
their daughter, Ella Rose, into the
world on Valentine’s Day, 2017.
It’s been a great run for Benanti,
who grew up in Kinnelon, and it’s
a run she hopes will carry on for
years to come. Wayne Magazine
recently caught up with Benanti,
who shared stories about her days
in Kinnelon, her current projects,
and her career aspirations.
WRITTEN BY IAN SPELLING
WHAT KIND OF A CHILDHOOD DID
YOU HAVE IN KINNELON? I had a
pretty idyllic childhood. It was a
very small town. I had 89 kids in my
graduating class. It was a beautiful
place to grow up. There wasn’t, at
the time, an arts program to speak
of in our schools. So, that was chal-
lenging because that was my passion.
I did the high school musical every
spring, and I found a lot of solace at
The Barn Theatre in Montville. That
was an informative space for me. I
was surrounded by grown-ups, but
grown-ups who shared the same
passion as I did, and I loved them.
There weren’t a lot of people my age
who liked what I liked.
DID THAT CAUSE PROBLEMS?
There wasn’t a whole lot of bully-
ing, even though I was sort of weird
and would’ve expected it. I still had
friends. My friends were supportive
and loving, so I think in a lot of ways
growing up that way gave me the
courage to step into Broadway at such
>
LET HER ENTERTAIN YOU At the 2008 Tony
Awards, Laura Benanti poses backstage after
being recognized with a Best Performance by a
Featured Actress in a Musical award (for playing
Louise in Gypsy).
WAYNE MAGAZINE BACK TO SCHOOL 2018
27