Laura Benanti in "The Wedding Singer"
Laura Benanti in "The Wedding Singer"
Joined: 12/31/69
#1Laura Benanti in "The Wedding Singer"
Posted: 8/28/15 at 9:53pm
I watched an interview, and she said that she was miscast. Was she?
#2Laura Benanti in
Posted: 8/28/15 at 10:00pm
I don't know what anybody else thought but I personally really liked her in the role. What interview was it?
#3Laura Benanti in
Posted: 8/28/15 at 10:09pm
Didn't the score do a lot of damage to her voice? I know she had to take a leave of absence to rest her voice.
Maybe she simply meant that the score wasn't suited to her voice type?
#4Laura Benanti in
Posted: 8/28/15 at 10:51pm
I remember seeing the show and feeling like she just didn't fit in; there was something about her performance that didn't seem to gel with the show. But I also remember liking her song the best out of all the songs in the show ("Someday when it's me..."
.
#5Laura Benanti in
Posted: 8/28/15 at 10:53pm
Knowing only the score and Benanti's other work I've always thought it was an odd choice.
Keeping BroadwayWorld Illustrated
#6Laura Benanti in
Posted: 8/29/15 at 3:50am
I saw the show 3 times (it's my #1 guilty pleasure show) and I could see how she would think herself to have been miscast and I could agree. I mean it was not such a big miscast that it brought down the show or made her look bad. I think the issue was not so much the score but Benanti being sort of limited in what she could do with the role. Bentani has a big strong personality on stage and that's not really the role of Julia who is a very sweet, quiet, demure, and I would even say meek character. You could see Bentani really wanting to go bigger and further with the stuff she was given but being very limited to how far she could push it. Forced to hold back and making it seem sort of awkward. I would have loved to see her taking on the role of Holly or Linda who are both I think more Benanti's cup of tea when it comes to being big and fun. She would kill the sassy comedy of the role of Holly.
LarryD2
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/1/14
#7Laura Benanti in
Posted: 8/29/15 at 8:16am
She never seemed very comfortable in the role. She's very funny, but not in the ditzy, rom-com way the role requires. And why anyone would write a score for one of the great soprano voices in theater that's required her to sing almost entirely in chest made no sense.
I know she had to take a leave of absence to rest her voice.
I'm not sure if that had to do with vocal troubles or with her persistent medical issues that stemmed from her INTO THE WOODS injury.
electrode10
Stand-by Joined: 3/28/08
#8Laura Benanti in
Posted: 8/29/15 at 9:17am
Maybe I'm remembering incorrectly, but didn't she take leave due to a knee injury related to the show?
I never got got to see her myself - I saw Tina Maddigan, who covered for Laura during her leave and I greatly enjoyed - and it's been quite a while since I've listened to the recording, but I did always love her voice.
#9Laura Benanti in
Posted: 8/29/15 at 10:03am
I love Benanti on the cast recording, but when I saw her live on Broadway in the show, and on the bootleg video widely circulated, she seems out of place. I saw Jenna Ushkowitz from Glee do the role in Pittsburgh this summer, and it made a huge difference. Ushkowitz isn't as great of an actress as Benanti, obviously, but she excels at the sort of sweet sad-sack character Julia is, while Benanti seemed to be straining to pull a different kind of manic comedy out of the role. Additionally, completely different type of voice- Ushkowitz sounded more at home in chest voiced Eighties pop, without bringing quite as much of the "traditional musical theatre sound" to the role.
iluvtheatertrash
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/9/04
#10Laura Benanti in
Posted: 8/29/15 at 10:43am
Laura's leave of absence was due to continued complications from her accident during Into The Woods. There's a lot more to it that I'm not sure whether she ever went public about, but her accident in ITW and the surgery that followed wreaked a lot of havoc on her body and life for quite a while.
"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#11Laura Benanti in
Posted: 8/29/15 at 11:03am
Littleshopofcarrie said: "I don't know what anybody else thought but I personally really liked her in the role. What interview was it?
"
One for WOTV and it was in her dressing room
AEA AGMA SM
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/13/09
#12Laura Benanti in
Posted: 8/29/15 at 11:37am
iluvtheatertrash said: "Laura's leave of absence was due to continued complications from her accident during Into The Woods. There's a lot more to it that I'm not sure whether she ever went public about, but her accident in ITW and the surgery that followed wreaked a lot of havoc on her body and life for quite a while. "
She eventually did go public with everything, as she had started to gain a reputation, both within the industry and amongst the public, as someone who calls out a lot and was unreliable. As I recall, a big part of the problem is that the injury was misdiagnosed as to its severity and thus not properly treated at the time.
In regards to her casting in the show, I agree with many others that she was wrong for the part. They cast a rising young soprano and tried to force her into this weird pop-mix that didn't showcase her best talents. The role truly called for the sweet girl-next-door type, which is not what I think of when I think of Laura Benanti.
Justin_
Understudy Joined: 5/28/06
#13Laura Benanti in
Posted: 8/29/15 at 2:09pm
I remember reading this years ago and being dumbfounded how the production wouldn't let her talk about what really happened. The fact that she was back in another show 3 weeks after a surgery like that... unbelievable.
#14Laura Benanti in
Posted: 8/29/15 at 6:37pm
She's a wonderful singer, but I could see why she wasn't suited. She probably just didn't get enough to do. Love Some Day though!! I can connect with it so much!!
#15Laura Benanti in
Posted: 8/29/15 at 11:19pm
Just remember that this role was played by Drew Barrymore in the movie. Laura just didn't look the role, she was supposed to be a girl next door type, and that's not who Laura is. Tina Maddigan took over her role and she was much more believable as the girl next door and her voice is more suited to sing a pop score.
"People have their opinions and that doesn't mean that their opinions are wrong or right. I just take it with a grain of salt because opinions are like as*holes, everyone has one".
-Felicia Finley-
ggersten
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/11/06
#17Laura Benanti in
Posted: 8/30/15 at 3:15pm
I saw the show many times.
Laura was ok but yes miscast. Tina more like Drew in the movie
laura is hysterical, but she came across as my friends said and ice queen in wedding singer.
I loved her original song "right on time" that got replaced by "someday"
i also preferred Kevin Kern as Robbie.
Amy and Felicia really stole the show though.
Becky
Broadway Star Joined: 5/14/03
#18Laura Benanti in
Posted: 8/30/15 at 3:24pm
Was she miscast? I thought so. Played too old and mature for the young, bubbly "Julia", and wasn't charismatic enough because of it. I remember sitting behind a woman who was clearly connected to the production, and at intermission she was on the phone discussing how the things they were trying to do to make her play "younger" seemed to be working (she mentioned adding a headband in particular). It's like she was giving intermission notes to someone. I didn't think it was working. Bottom line for me was she just came off as old, poised, and mature - not anything like the character should be.
As someone noted, she wasn't miscast enough to ruin the show by any means, but it didn't have the appeal I wanted it to have because of it. She apparently knew it too. Not every fiercely talented person is right for every role 
#19Laura Benanti in
Posted: 8/30/15 at 8:13pm
Well, I think that she sounds GREAT on the cast recording.
"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "
#20Laura Benanti in
Posted: 8/31/15 at 5:37pm
She sounds great on the recording and she sounded great live. Laura is an excellent singer, but as an actress she wasn't believable as the girl next door. Tina played the role much better, the role didn't require a soprano to sing it. Tina has a great pop voice. I really enjoy both of their performances. Laura's just felt a bit awkward, I blame that terrible wig! haha.
"People have their opinions and that doesn't mean that their opinions are wrong or right. I just take it with a grain of salt because opinions are like as*holes, everyone has one".
-Felicia Finley-
#21Laura Benanti in
Posted: 8/31/15 at 8:15pm
I remember when the cast announcement came out, I was confused as to why Amy Spanger wasn't playing Julia.
A little swash, a bit of buckle - you'll love it more than bread.
#22Laura Benanti in
Posted: 8/31/15 at 9:16pm
There was awhile where everyone wanted to be in the Laura Benanti business, despite the health issues during ITH. She was the It Girl at the time, so I don't blame her or the producers for wanting to legitimize this musical adaptation, with someone of her caliber. It just wasn't the right timing or the right role.
"Hey little girls, look at all the men in shiny shirts and no wives!" - Jackie Hoffman, Xanadu, 19 Feb 2008
Becky
Broadway Star Joined: 5/14/03
#23Laura Benanti in
Posted: 8/31/15 at 9:55pm
Oh that wig!! I almost forgot. And she did sound great in the show and on the recording. She's fantastic - but her vocals were not the issue. Just not a fit. Got a great recording out of it though!
I wondered the same thing about Amy when I saw the show - she'd have made a good Julia.
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