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EXCLUSIVE: Tony-winning actress Laura Benanti is set to star in NBC’s drama pilot Playboy. The project, from 20th TV/Imagine TV, is set at the Playboy Club in Chicago in 1963. Benanti will play Carol-Lynne, a 30-year-old bombshell and an established star at the Playboy Club who knows that her days as a Bunny are numbered. Benanti, who won a Tony for Gypsy, co-starred on ABC’s Eli Stone and FX’s Starved. She is with Innovative and Brookside Artist Management.
Nancy Lenehan (Worst Week) has been cast in CBS’ comedy pilot How To Be A Gentleman, written by and starring David Hornsby. It revolves around a magazine that has changed ownership. Lenehan, repped by Pakula/King & Assoc. and Meghan Schumacher Management, will play Hornsby’s WASPy overbearing mother.
Tara Summers is set to co-star in the CBS drama pilot Ringer. The project centers on troubled young woman Bridget (Sarah Michelle Gellar) who, while on the run from the mob, hides out by inhabiting the life of her rich twin sister, Siobhan, until she learns that her twin’s life has a bounty on it as well. Summers will play Siobnah’s best friend.
Kevin McNally has boarded ABC’s pilot Poe, a crime procedural following Edgar Allan Poe, the world’s very first detective, as he uses unconventional methods to investigate dark mysteries in 1840s Boston. McNally will play the tough and authoritative Commissioner Kyle Kilpatrick.
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She was amazing in gypsy. She’s great for this!
Laura Benanti is a great talent ( and gorgeous) , who deserves more recognition . I truly wish this program is a great success for her.
Off topic, when Anne Hathaway was a young girl, Benanti’s mother gave Anne voice lessons. Now, Anne has one of the best singing voices of any A-list movie star in the film business. Laura Benanti comes from a family of great artists- singers / actors/dancers.
Casting kudos to Playboy for getting Laura Benati. As for the other pilot castings, I’m not even sure I want to see any of the other shows. Poe sounds interesting, but it’s on Already Been Canceled so that’s not good.
Laura Benanti playing 30?? Ha, that’s hilarious! Even if she could act – which she can’t – she can’t come across as 30. She’d be better cast as the mother of one of the Bunnies.
Dude – she’s 31. How much of a stretch is that?
Laura Benati playing 30??? Are you serious? Why don’t you just sign Betty White to play a 40 year old! Even if Laura could act, and she can’t, she couldn’t pass as 30.
The fact that she won a Tony proves that she’s a great actress. Very good casting decision.
How is 31-year-old Laura Benanti ever going to pass for a 30-year-old??!! That’s just crazy!! Are you serious!! They clearly should have hired a 25-year-old to play a 30-year-old!!
And she’ll probably win a second Tony for her side-splitting turn as Candela in the musical version of WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN.
31 is the new 30!
Problem is, it’s a DRAMA, not a comedy, about Playboy back in the day.
Who the hell wants to watch a drama about an aging Playboy Bunny?
What drama? Her face wrinkling, boobs sagging, younger Bunny’s hate her, boyfriend just likes her as a Bunny and not as a “person”?
By the way, Laura may be 31, but her headshot pic looks way older. So, if that’s the way she really looks, then she can’t play 30.
And worse, she’ll be surrounded by younger, perkier Bunnies, who’ll make her look even older and saggier.
Now, a COMEDY about an aging Playboy Bunny surrounded by MUCH younger, gravity-defying Bunnies, might be worth watching.
You don’t go to a Playboy club for the drama. Men go to be energized by sweet young things smiling at them.
The only audience for NBC’s “Playboy” drama will be aging women who identify with Laura’s aging character-not men.
Because men fear one thing above all: Watching the drama of a woman’s youth, beauty, and boobs fade before their very eyes.
Love Nancy but Laura’s a show killer…
Laura is going to be fabulous, and to those bashing her, if you don’t have anything nice to say, then kindly keep your mouths shut. She has so much talent and I think she’s going to do so well with the show. I wish her all the luck in the world with it!
A few of you posters are idiots. Or have no idea who Laura Benanti, have never seen her actually perform, have a friend who was not cast in the pilot or just enjoy posting on this website and spewing nonsense. Take your pick. On top of that – 30 is hardly old and sagging – so that leads me to believe you’re very young and immature. If you’ve ever actually SEEN Laura in person you would realize that the has the body most women DREAM of. It’s rock hard and despite the ludicrous cliche comments above – is not sagging or anything of the like.
How sad, ignorant and naive that for some of you, 30 is old and sagging. The show is obviously not geared for you. And that’s ok. Go watch Glee, Miley and other shows where you can see 18 year olds grind on each other….
To all the bashers – do you have the talent to criticize someone else?
As someone who grew up with Laura, she’s been talented since day one. And a triple threat. When we wrote essays in high school English, Laura wrote and performed songs. And they were incredible – I’m still waiting for her to release an album.
She was garnering drama awards since her teens, so I’m pretty sure her acting chops shouldn’t be in question. Pretty sure TONY disagrees with the haters, too.
I really hope this works out for her. I know I’d love to see her continue to succeed.
LAURA BENANTI IS BEYOND AMAZING! To all of the haters, shut the f*** up.
Anyone else think she’s a dead ringer for Kate Middleton in this pic? Love her!
Yes! I saw a photo of her on a news site and thought it WAS Kate Middleton! That’s when I did a search for her name (after clicking and finding that it was not Kate) and ended up here! She TOTALLY looks like Kate!