Broadway and TV star Laura Benanti was interviewed by telephone Saturday morning on Backstage with Johnny O on WZBG. The actress was most recently seen in the NBC live presentation of The Sound of Music as Baroness Elsa von Shraeder. Local actress Grace Rundhaug appeared as Marta Von Trapp in the live production.
During the interview, the Broadway legend discusses how she was cast in the television production and how much she enjoyed doing the role. She also defends her costar Carrie Underwood, calling her "brave" to take on the role of Maria in the live musical. She is grateful to the network for getting her name and the name of the other Broadway veterans out to a wider audience.
I very much enjoyed the Sound of Music when I watched it live and even watched it again when it was rebroadcast the following Saturday. It was a treat for me to see the Broadway stars, including Audra MacDonald and Christian Borle, and of course the children chosen to play the von Trapp children.
Click here to listen to the podcast of the entire Backstage broadcast. Music selections are from Scrooge the Musical, The Sound of Music (including a wonderful duet between Ms. Benanti and Mr. Borle) , and "Mr. Tanner" from Ms. Benanti's debut CD, In Constant Search of the Right Kind of Attention.
