Sutton Foster, other Broadway veterans to perform at Cafe Carlyle

The winter season of Cafe Carlyle is seeing a lot of stars, such as Sutton Foster, John Lloyd Young, and Woody Allen. Popular artists are making their way there to perform in shows on different dates.

Here's who you can expect:

January 14-24 - Sutton Foster
January 28-February 1 - Wildhorn, Clint Holmes, and Jane Monheit.
February 4-15 - John Lloyd Young
February 18-22 - Nellie McKay
February 25-March 1 - Maude Maggart
March 17-29 - John Pizzarelli with Daniel Jobim
January 13-June 16 - Woody Allen & the Eddy Davis

New Orleans Jazz Band will play their usual Monday night engagement.

Tony Nominees 2013

Perfect

 In last week's Bunheads, Michelle (Sutton Foster) is helping Ginny (Bailey Buntain) get ready for a school audition.  Here they are singing "It's a Perfect Relationship" from Bells are Ringing

Valentine's with Craig & Sutton

Sutton Sings Live

From Seth Rudetsky's Playbill column regarding Sutton Foster (Seth is guest starring on Bunheads. He is in the season ender.)

"Turns out, as opposed to most TV shows and films, she always sings completely live on "Bunheads." So great! She gets the accompaniment pre-recorded and then wears a little, tiny earpiece that plays as she films. The drummer and I pre-recorded her audition and she was filmed singing it around five times. Of course, only Sutton can hear the accompaniment while it's filmed so when you watch her perform on set it's actually just her standing in silence and belting up a storm. She did an incredibly physical version of "Maybe This Time" on a previous episode that anyone on TV would have wanted to pre-record but she sings it all live (AKA she's from Broadway, people!)

ICYMI

Sutton Foster singing "Late Late Show" on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

Sutton Sings for Craig

Sutton Meets Craig

Sutton Foster on The Late Late show with Craig Ferguson.


 
Bunheads premieres 11 June on ABC Family at 9 PM.

Time Out's All Time Broadway Divas

Time Out NY or TONY comes out with Broadway's 25 All Time Divas. Check out the list if your favorite diva made it!

(photo from TimeOut NY)

You're The Top

Uber talented Sutton Foster and dreamy Colin Donnel perform You're The Top from Anything Goes at the Rosie Show (Mon. Jan 23).

Reno Sweeney

Sutton Foster on New York Live.

View more videos at: http://nbcnewyork.com.

It's Delightful, It's Delovely

It's close to impossible for one not to enjoy themselves in Anything Goes. Light story, happy ending, lots of dancing, great songs by Cole Porter oh and dancing sailors!

Anything Goes is set on the SS America sailing from NY to London. Billy Crocker (the dreamy Colin Donnel) is a stowaway in love with the debutante, Hope Harcourt (Laura Osnes). She in turn is engaged to the wealthy Lord Evelyn Oakleigh (Adam Godley). Reno Sweeney (Sutton Foster), a nightclub singer and once in love with Billy, helps Billy win Hope with the aid of mobster Moonface Martin (Joel Grey). What follows is sort of a comedy of errors and mistaken identities towards the quest for true love.

The cast is uber talented. Sutton Foster is again impressive with her song and dance numbers. She proves why she is the current darling of musical theatre. How she can sing (without sounding winded) after that long complicated dance break during Anything Goes is mind boggling. Colin Donnel is just dreamy as the leading man and his chemistry with Laura Osnes is compelling specially in their dance for De-lovely. They are as close to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers gliding onstage. Joel Grey is amusing as a trigger happy mobster in this show. Kelly Bishop plays Hope's mother and it is quite a privilege to see her onstage after a long absence (well, since A Chorus Line).

It is a pleasure to see this kind of musical where they have these long elaborate dance numbers involving the whole ensemble (all with great talent) in Anything Goes and Blow Gabriel Blow. An ode to the old musicals. To be fair though, as a student of tap, I am partial to the Anything Goes number and it's tapping. And once seen in the theatre in full choreography, it is a celebration of dance. Though some of the steps where not as complicated as it looks, it is the smoothness of the transitions that is very impressive and the very tuned syncopation that I love. Plus those flaps and times steps are even more resonant when one hears it live on stage, it just makes you smile. Made me so gungho to go to my Thursday night tap classes!

The Sondheim Theatre Stagedoor

Colin Donnel

Andrew Cao (Luke)

Laura Osnes

Reno Sweeney Salutes the Royal Couple

Sutton Foster seen here as Reno Sweeney from Anything Goes sends her regards to the Royal Couple. Photo courtesy of BroadwayWorld.com

Anything Goes on GMA

I made sure I had my dvr set when Sutton Foster and the cast of Anything Goes appeared on Good Morning America last Friday. Too bad the set was so cramped you couldn't enjoy the full glory of the dancing and staging. Here's the full staging from the Roundabout webpage.

Anything Goes opens on April 7 at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.

An Evening with Sutton Foster

Last Thursday, Sept 23, Tom, Jon and I saw An Evening with Sutton Foster at the new Broadway Playhouse here in Chicago. I've seen her in most of her shows but this experience was more intimate. No characters to play or hide behind. It was just her and a piano singing songs she liked to sing and telling her stories in a very kooky and nerdy manner, clearly revealing her amusing personality. Case in point, in the middle of the concert, she pulls out a flip cam and gets the audience to say "Hello from Chicago!" She said she collects audience videos from her shows. Apparently, she uploads it in her site (click here). I really admire performers like her who are so natural and at ease during their concert banter. It just perks my interest more as an audience member.

The concert was a bit ballad heavy and the songs were mostly from her album Wish. She did however, sing some standards too. I've always enjoyed Up On The Roof and the Airconditioner song from her cd but also enjoyed Something's Coming (from WSS) which opened the show. One part of the evening involved her having an audience member pulling a song from a cup. The songs were And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going (Dreamgirls), The Story Goes On (Baby), Meadowlark (The Baker's Wife), Don't Rain On My Parade (Funny Girl) and Defying Gravity (Wicked). She called it The Big Book of Belty Songs. The night we were there, it was Meadowlark and she sang it beautifully. Such a great way to add spontaneity to the evening.

She also sang My Heart Was Set on You from her album which I've always found to be heartbreaking but even more so this night because she too was on the verge of tears as she finished the song. Before the night ended, she sang a mash up of Anyone Can Whistle/Being Alive which was exhilarating but eventually ended the night with her optimistic anthem from Millie, Gimme Gimme. With such crisp and crystal clear voice combined with her nuanced interpretation of the songs, it was truly an astonishing (yes, pun intended) evening.

The new Broadway Playhouse

the marquee

Sutton Foster, who was so amiable talking to people who waited for her in the lobby

finally got my playbills signed

They're Playing Our Song

The Actors Fund benefit concert of They're Playing Our Song was presented last Monday with Sutton Foster and Seth Rudetsky as Sonya and Vernon. I wish I had seen this but alas couldn't. Here's some scenes from the benefit courtesy of Broadway.com. Sutton's voice truly fits so well with the songs.

(photo from Broadway.com)

They're Playing Our Song

Sutton Foster and Seth Rudetsky will star in the upcoming Actors Fund concert of They're Playing Our Song. The evening will be held Aug. 30 at 7:30 PM at the Gerald W. Lynch Theatre at John Jay College. Full casting details to follow.

From the press notes:
They're Playing Our Song features a score by Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager and a book by Neil Simon. The musical, according to press notes, is described as such: "When Vernon Gersch (Seth Rudestky), an established and wisecracking composer, takes on the kooky and offbeat lyricist Sonia Walsk (Sutton Foster) as his new collaborator, their initial match is a professional success but a personal disaster. Together, the two undergo a series of trials and overcome a number of hurdles before finding true love by the final curtain."

For more information please contact The Actors Fund.

DVR Alert: Sutton Foster on SVU

As a Law and Order junkie, this is exciting! Sutton Foster guests stars in Law & Order SVU March 3 (yes, that's tonight!) at 10 pm ET / 9 pm CT. From the previews, another Stage Notes fav is also in the episode, Kathy Griffin!

(photo from SuttonFoster.com)

Sutton: Coming To A Theatre Near You

Broadway darling and Tony winner, Sutton Foster is launching a series of concerts around the country. The tour will launch in St. Louis (Sheldon Concert Hall) on Feb. 4. Other dates that have been announced are:

Cleveland, Ohio
Date: February 6, 2010
Location: Hanna Theatre

San Francisco, California
Date: February 14, 2010
Location: Bay Area Cabaret

Naples, Florida
Date: February 26, 2010
Location: Naples Philharmonic Center

Charlotte, North Carolina
Date: March 20, 2010
Location: McGlohon Theatre

Additional cities and dates will be announced soon. For more info please check SuttonFoster.com.

In addition, she will be at Ball State University in Muncie, IN this Saturday, Jan. 30 to give a free talk about her ascent to Broadway stardom. For more information about this event, please click here.

(photo from BWW.com)

A Morning Person

Sutton Foster and the cast of Shrek The Musical performed Morning Person on the Today Show. With the tap dancing, it's probably my favorite part of the show.