'An Evening with Sutton Foster' Plays San Diego's Balboa Theatre, 10/1

Sutton Foster, the beautiful and delightful Tony Award®-winning star of Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Drowsy Chaperone, Little Women, Young Frankenstein and Shrek the Musical is returning to San Diego for One Night Only in the historic and intimate BALBOA THEATRE, Friday October 1, 2010; with "AN EVENING With Sutton Foster, Michael Rafter Music Director," as a Broadway/San Diego ~ A Nederlander Presentation. Tickets are available now only as part of a Broadway/San Diego 2010-2011 Season subscription package; individual tickets will go on sale to the general public on Thursday, August 12.

Not only is she considered this generation's premier musical theater actress ~ Foster is the original creator of five acclaimed Broadway roles, a record previously held by the fabulous Ethel Merman ~ she was recently selected as one of the "Top 40 Musical Theatre Legends" from 1900 to today. The evening's music director is the esteemed Michael Rafter and will feature Broadway show stoppers as well as selections from her new CD Wish.

Many in San Diego are familiar with Foster's career and consider her storied "big break" part of local theatre history. Foster was cast as the understudy to the lead in Thoroughly Modern Millie at the La Jolla Playhouse premiere in 2000. A week before tech rehearsals began, the lead became ill and Foster was asked to step in until the actress returned. Foster was quickly offered the role and a year later she was on Broadway as Millie Dillmount (for which she won the 2002 Tony®, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Astaire Awards for her performance). Her many acclaimed roles on Broadway since include Princess Fiona in Shrek: The Musical, Inga in the Mel Brooks musical, Young Frankenstein, Janet Van De Graaff in The Drowsy Chaperone and Jo March in Little Women: The Musical. She is currently co-starring in Paul Weitz' Trust at Second Stage Theatre in NYC in a limited run through September; and will star in next year's Broadway revival of Anything Goes.

TICKETS: $20 --$71

TICKET PURCHASE: Tickets Available now only with Season Ticket Package: (888) 937-8995

Groups 10+: (619) 564-3001

Individual Performance tickets go on sale Thursday, August 12:

Civic Theatre Ticket Office; 1100 Third Avenue

(619) 570-1100; Monday - Friday, 10AM - 6PM

Ticketmaster (800) 982-2787

PARKING: Paid parking available in the NBC Building Garage at 225 Broadway. Enter Broadway Circle from 2nd Ave. and Broadway; to garage entrance down-ramp on the left, directly across from the Levi's Store.

WEBSITE: BroadwaySD.com

Sutton Foster recently starred on Broadway as Princess Fiona in Shrek: The Musical, for which she was honored with Tony® and Drama Desk nominations, and the Outer Critics Circle Award. Prior to that, Sutton was Inga in the Mel Brooks musical, Young Frankenstein, Janet Van De Graaff in The Drowsy Chaperone (2006 Tony® and Drama Desk Award nominations, LA Ovation Award) and Jo March in Little Women: The Musical (2005 Tony®, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle Award nominations). She is the recipient of the 2002 Tony®, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Astaire Awards for her performance as Millie Dillmount in Thoroughly Modern Millie, a role she created in the 2000 La Jolla Playhouse premiere. Other Broadway credits include Les Miserables, Annie, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and Grease!. Regional productions include What the World Needs Now (Old Globe), Dorian (Goodspeed), The Three Musketeers (San Jose Musical Theater), Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and Sally in Me and My Girl (both at Pittsburgh CLO). She has toured nationally in The Will Rogers Follies, Les Miserables, and Grease!. She has appeared as Svetlana in Chess in Concert and as the "I'm the Greatest Star" Fanny Brice in Funny Girl in Concert, both Actors Fund of America benefits. On television, Sutton recently guest starred on "Law & Order: SVU." Other appearances include the Disney Channel's "Johnny and the Sprites" and several episodes of the HBO series, "The Flight of the Conchords." Sutton has performed in concert at Lincoln Center's American Songbook series, with Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, with the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, at Feinstein's, Joe's Pub, and at concert halls and theaters across the country. Recordings include The Maury Yeston Songbook (PS Classics), Jule Styne in Hollywood, and the original cast recordings of Thoroughly Modern Millie, Little Women, The Drowsy Chaperone, Young Frankenstein and Shrek. Her debut solo CD, Wish (Ghostlight Records), was recently released to critical acclaim and is now available in stores. She has just completed a sold-out limited run of the highly-anticipated City Center Encores! production of Stephen Sondheim's Anyone Can Whistle, starring as Nurse Fay Apple. She is a proud teacher at New York University and Ball State University. Visit her website: www.suttonfoster.com.

Michael Rafter is currently the music supervisor for the Broadway production of Everyday Rapture. Last year, Michael was in Melbourne, Australia where he supervised the music for the hit Broadway show, Jersey Boys. He has traveled the globe this past year, working on the other six productions as well - from Toronto and Las Vegas to Melbourne. Sutton Foster and Michael collaborated on her first solo CD, Wish, which was released in February, and performed it live at the Lincoln Center American Songbook series. The New York Times wrote, "Michael Rafter's subtle, glowing arrangements for 10 musicians ... created a softened 1920s sound, at once lilting and refined." He also co-produced Norm Lewis's solo CD, This Is The Life, and the recording of Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori's Broadway show, Caroline, Or Change.

Michael conducted Gypsy on Broadway, as well as the TV movie starring Bette Midler, and won an Emmy award for his music direction of the movie. His recent movie credits include two movies with Hugh Grant: Music And Lyrics (piano/vocal coach, produced vocals) and Did You Hear About The Morgans? (produced vocal and instrumental tracks). He has supervised the Broadway and/or national touring companies of Thoroughly Modern Millie, Sunset Boulevard, The Sound of Music, The Buddy Holly Story and the current hit, Jersey Boys. On Broadway, Michael has served as music director/conductor of Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Sound of Music, The King & I and Gypsy. Michael did the arrangements for the Broadway productions of Swing and Sweet Charity. He was one of the two-piano duo that played the Broadway revival of The Most Happy Fella, and worked on The Tap Dance Kid and Les Miserables as well. In addition, Michael was the music director/conductor for The American Songbook series at Alice Tully Hall. He was also the music director for "Broadway's Best" on Bravo, where he worked with such artists as Trisha Yearwood, Kevin Bacon, Joan Osborne, MAndy Moore, Cyndi Lauper, Darius Rucker, and Shawn Colvin. As a guest conductor, Michael conducted the Memphis Symphony and the Tulsa Philharmonic for an evening of Jule Styne's music. Michael is the co-founder of Destination Broadway, a summer theatre program for children 8-18 years old.