Showbuzzness: Fostering Talent

To me, one of the coolest things about living in New York is having access to incredible talent. Between Lincoln Center, Broadway, the dance companies, etc. etc. etc., we really are home to some of the best artists in the world.

So imagine my delight when I heard that my favorite New York performer of all would be having a solo show this past Monday night. At… 11:30 pm. But to hell with sleep—Sutton Foster is just too darn talented (and too rarely appearing) to pass up. So I went. And it was more than worth Tuesday’s droopy eyelids. This girl can sing two notes and you immediately want to go buy her album (which, incidentally, was the point of this concert - she’s hitting the recording studio next week with Ghostlight Records.) In addition to being a flawless singer, she’s a comedic powerhouse and also happens to be a really great dancer. She also comes across as a genuinely nice and grateful person who just happens to be living her dream. (Granted, I don’t know her. Could be a total diva. But I doubt it.)

Sutton Foster as Inga in Young Frankenstein, with costar Roger Bart. Photo by Paul Kolnik

Sutton’s success story is such a Peggy Sawyer cliché that it begs to be fake. She started performing at an early age, left high school to do a national tour, had a fairly successful run of touring productions… and then was cast in the chorus of Broadway’s Roaring 20’s musical Thoroughly Modern Millie. Naturally, the lead couldn’t do the show, Sutton took over, and instantly became a star, winning the 2002 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress. Since then, she’s had starring roles in Little Women, The Drowsy Chaperone, Young Frankenstein… and she’s about to play Princess Fiona in Shrek The Musical. (That’s right. Shrek The Musical. We’ll discuss later.)

[Oh! Non-Broadway fans: she played Bret's girlfriend Coco on Flight of the Conchords. Yes! That girl happens to sing really well!]

So…anyway, the concert was fantastic, I’m really excited about the CD, and you should go see her in something if you get a chance (that’s Young Frankenstein at the moment)—I think you’ll be very impressed. She’s an honest-to-goodness triple threat…hard to find nowadays.

The point of this is: I think it’s great that living in New York, we have opportunities to catch some incredible performances of things otherwise unseen by the world. She performed at the intimate Joe’s Pub - and (if you’ll excuse the Hallmarkian sappiness) it’s exciting to have been part of that tiny group of people who got to witness some really amazing music being made.

There are a number of clubs, cabarets, and bars who host talent from the theater on a regular basis: Joe’s Pub is a big one, as is the Metropolitan Room, Don’t Tell Mama, and The Duplex. If there’s someone in particular you like, he or she probably has a website—check to see if there are any upcoming performances! Getting to see a talented actor out of makeup and costume and character and shining on their own terms is, well, it’s the bee’s knees. So the next time you’re dying to do something on a Monday night, see who’s performing at one of the city’s smaller venues. You never know the hidden gems you may discover!

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