http://www.talkinbroadway.com/spot/benantiupdate.html " year after Swing, Laura played Cinderella in the revival of Into the Woods. She received a Tony nomination for her portrayal, but she was also seriously injured during one of her pratfalls. It wasn't until nine months after the accident that she was diagnosed with a broken neck. Asked by the production not to mention her injuries publicly, Laura found herself in the uncomfortable position of missing performances, but unable to explain her reasons. She had neck surgery three weeks before beginning previews of Nine, once again missing some initial performances during her recovery, but finally able to stabilize her neck and remove the lingering threat of paralysis. "
LB: I took off for a little bit. I did physical therapy and then I tried to go back, but I just couldn't do it.
NR: I remember you got a lot of grief by people saying that you don't show up. How did that make you feel?
LB: It was really hurtful. I had a serious injury and there was absolutely no way I could have done the show. I tried to. I tried to go back and do it but I physically couldn't. My feeling was that it was unfair to the audience. If I'm out there limping and barely able to move my head, it's a hundred dollars to see a show. That's not fair.
"Then I got the surgery three weeks before the first preview of Nine. I missed some shows because I had just gotten neck surgery.
NR: Recovering from surgery is tough. How were you able to do a show only three weeks later?
LB: It was awful. It was sheer will because I knew people ... . some people ... The people who knew me understood, and that's always the way it is. Then the people who want to rip you down said whatever they said, so I just wanted to push through. But there were days ... Not only did I have neck pain, but they had to shove a tube down my throat. They went in through the front of my neck so my cords were incredibly swollen from just having neck surgery. There were days in Nine when I couldn't talk. I was so swollen in my neck and my throat that I couldn't talk. What are you going to do then? I'm not going to go out there and talk "Unusual Way." And you know what? I did the best that I could. I missed very little considering that I had just had a major life-altering surgery. "
