Laura Benanti is joining Lincoln Center Theater's acclaimed staging of My Fair Lady. The Tony winner will take on the central role of Eliza Doolittle in the Lerner & Loewe musical beginning on October 23, 2018 for a run through February 17, 2019. Benanti will replace Tony-nominated original cast member Lauren Ambrose, who will play her final performance on October 21, 2018.
Benanti is a Tony winner for Gypsy who was most recently seen on Broadway in Meteor Shower. Her other main-stem credits include Tony-nommed turns in She Loves Me, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Swing! and Into the Woods.
Benanti joins a cast that also includes Harry Hadden-Paton as Henry Higgins, Norbert Leo Butz as Alfred P. Doolittle, Allan Corduner as Colonel Pickering, Linda Mugleston as Mrs. Pearce, Clarke Thorell as Zoltan Karparthy, Jordan Donica as Freddy Eynsford-Hill and Diana Rigg as Mrs. Higgins. As previously announced, Rosemary Harris will replace Rigg on September 11. Beginning on October 30, Kerstin Anderson will play the role of Eliza Doolittle at all Tuesday evening performances.
The company also includes Cameron Adams, Shereen Ahmed, Heather Botts, Rebecca Eichenberger, SuEllen Estey, Christopher Faison, Steven Trumon Gray, Adam Grupper, Michael Halling, Joe Hart, Todd A. Horman, Sasha Hutchings, Mary Claire King, Kate Marilley, Liz McCartney, Justin Lee Miller, Rommel Pierre O’Choa, Keven Quillon, JoAnna Rhinehart, Tony Roach, Lance Roberts, Blair Ross, Paul Slade Smith, Samantha Sturm, Matt Wall, Michael Williams, Minami Yusui and Lee Zarrett.
Directed by Bartlett Sher and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, My Fair Lady features scenic design by Michael Yeargan, costume design by Catherine Zuber, lighting design by Donald Holder and sound design by Marc Salzberg.