Oh, Boy! Check Out Tony Winner Laura Benanti on the Cover of Playboy

Playboy magazine is serving up a taste of Broadway in its October issue. Tony Award winner Laura Benanti, who stars on NBC's upcoming series The Playboy Club, stepped into the magazine's Bunny suit for a special cover shoot to promote the hot new show.

Despite having shown plenty of skin onstage in her Tony-winning turn as the title character in Gypsy as well as in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Benanti admits she was hesitant to hop into the iconic costume. "I was nervous about putting it on," she told the magazine, "but it’s sexy and adorable and somehow makes every woman look ­beautiful. It’s kind of awesome.”

Benanti will play Carol-Lynne, the original Bunny at the original Playboy Club in Hugh Hefner's home city of Chicago. "My character says a lot of sassy, snappy things, because let’s face it, she’s a bit of an undercover bitch,” the actress said. Carol-Lynne, who is romantically involved with one of the club's top clients, eventually assumes a new position known as "Bunny Mother" and begins to serve as a mentor figure to the younger staff members. Benanti even did some research for the role by interviewing women who worked at the venue during the 1960s. "I was intrigued to discover how much the girls loved working at the club and what a progressive person [Hefner] was."

The Playboy Club begins its run on September 19 on NBC. Look for Benanti's issue of Playboy on newsstands later this month. In a nod to the show's '60s time period, the issue will cost only 60 cents.