Laura Benanti talks about her new show, Nobody Cares.
They expected to cry but didn't know how much they would laugh
Laura, Nobody Cares is your first ever UK show. What made now the right time to bring your brutally honest, self-deprecating comedy to the Edinburgh Fringe?
I actually made my UK concert debut in 2019 at Cadogan Hall, but this will be my first time performing my comedy show outside of the States! Edinburgh Fringe is a bucket-list dream for me – as is doing my own show in London, which is where I'll be in September. I'm also pretty excited to get a break from the dystopian hellscape that is currently the United States of America.
You call it a comedy show with music, not a musical. What can audiences expect from the blend of storytelling and original songs, and how do they work together onstage?
I want to be very clear that it's not a musical, because I want to set audience expectations. I would hate for someone to come to my show expecting to hear me sing from My Fair Lady and get standup comedy instead. The show is a hybrid of autobiographical storytelling in a standup-style format, punctuated by original comedy songs co-written with my writing partner Todd Almond. Todd debuted his show I'm Almost There at last year's Fringe to great acclaim!
The show covers everything from three marriages to perimenopause to people-pleasing recovery. When was the moment you realised you needed to turn this into a show?
Writing this show wasn’t actually my idea! I was approached by Audible about doing their Theatre Series, where they audio-record the show at the Minetta Lane Theater in Manhattan and then stream it on the Audible platform. The version of the show I’ll be performing this summer has changed a bit. I cut about 15 minutes, Todd and I wrote a new song, and I refined the ending. I'm really happy with it – I feel like the show got a tan and lost a stone. The title, Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares, was actually inspired by the thing I kept telling myself as I began writing the show. I finally had to succumb to the idea that perhaps no one would care. I'm relieved that people seem to!
You’ve said your favourite audience members are the boyfriends and husbands who got dragged along and leave as fans. What is it about Nobody Cares that surprises people the most?
I think there are some people – especially those who were dragged there by someone who said, “I know you don't like Broadway, but I think you'll like her” – who simply don’t know that I’m funny. I think the standup-style storytelling is surprising to people, as it's not something I had really done before. People have said to me that they expected to cry but didn’t know how much they would laugh – and vice versa. I think some people simply don’t know what they’re going to get, which is exciting to me!
From Broadway to Melania Trump, you’ve had a wide-ranging career. How does this show feel different from what people might know you for?
I'm known primarily for my work on Broadway (TV and film as well, but I think when people know of me they often associate me with theatre). This show is a completely different beast from either of those art forms. This is autobiographical comedic storytelling, breaking the fourth wall, singing original comedy songs, and being a little naughtier than people might expect me to be.
If Edinburgh audiences walk away remembering one thing from Nobody Cares, what do you hope it is?
That they had a great time and left feeling joyful.
