3 minute read
BACKSTAGE 5 WITH
Backstage 5 With... Sutton Foster
By Casey Mink
While other high school seniors were picking out prom dresses, Sutton Foster was traveling the country in the first national tour of “The Will Rogers Follies.” She was 17, and it was as much an education as any MFA program. Still, the two-time Tony winner and “Younger” star firmly believes in attending college—which is, in part, why she began teaching musical theater students at Ball State University.
What is one performance every actor should see and
why? Patti LuPone, “Sondheim Celebration” [“Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall”], 1992. She sings “Being Alive.” I was 16 years old when I saw it; it changed my life. No offense to anyone else in that show, but it was the only thing I remember, and I watched it over and over and over again. Every young performer—or old performer, or any age performer—should watch that performance.
Do you have an audition horror story you could share? I think I’m always amazing at auditions! Um, lies. This was early on; I decided I was right for “Rent,” which is hilarious. I went to a photo booth, and I got a photo strip of me trying to be grunge or something. I sent that in and recorded myself singing along to Janis Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart.” I totally got an audition, and I auditioned and I didn’t even bring a résumé. I just came in and did it. I got so many callbacks, and I was so close to playing Maureen on the tour; ultimately, I had no business playing Maureen. I tried to make myself edgy. I had zero edge.
How did you first get your Equity card? I was cast in the first national tour of “The Will Rogers Follies” when I was 17 years old. They came to Detroit, Michigan, and they held open calls. I had just seen “The Will Rogers Follies” performance on the Tonys, and I remember watching and going, “Oh, my gosh, all these girls, they’re all tall, they sing, they dance, they have big teeth. They look like me!” And then, like, two weeks later, there was an audition notice in the Detroit Free Press. I auditioned and was brought to New York for a callback, and then auditioned on the stage at the Palace Theatre—for Tommy Tune and Cy Coleman. I was still in high school. I spent my senior year traveling around the country as a “Follies” showgirl.
Do you feel like that job, and others you had when you
were young, were in some ways your education? They were. That was the path I took. It’s interesting, because I do believe in college, and I think it’s a really important transitional phase for young adults. I made all of my mistakes in those early jobs, and I do think of that as my early education, preparing me to have a career in musical theater. In all of my early jobs, I was an ensemble member, an understudy. I was climbing the ladder. But it is sort of that “Sliding Doors” moment where I think: Where would I be if I had stayed in college [at Carnegie Mellon]?
What advice would you give to your younger self? You don’t have to make things harder than they already are. You don’t have to make things a 40 when they’re already a 10. One of my mantras now is: I’m 46 years old; I’ve worked my entire life to be at this moment. I can allow it to be good.
