Sutton Foster Performs At Barnes And Noble On 2/27

Sutton Foster's debut CD ‘Wish' was released February 17th on Ghostlight Records. The album features 15 songs culled from the worlds of jazz, pop, Broadway and cabaret, and highlights Foster's eclectic choices, ranging from Patty Griffin's ‘Nobody's Cryin' to Duke Ellington's ‘I Like the Sunrise'...from Frank Loesser's ‘Warm All Over' to John Denver's ‘Sunshine on My Shoulders'.

Tony-winner Foster also looks forward to a sold-out, February 19th, NYC appearance, as part of the popular Lincoln Center Songbook Series.

On February 27th, Foster will perform and sign CDs at an In-Store appearance at Barnes and Noble Lincoln Center, at 5 pm.

Currently starring as Princess Fiona in Broadway's ‘Shrek The Musical', Sutton Foster was given high praise by Ben Brantley of The New York Times, who compared her to musical royalty: "She has emerged as an inspired, take-charge musical comedian in the tradition of Danny Kaye and Carol Burnett..."

Foster's unique ability to be irreverent and respectful from moment-to-moment shines through on ‘Wish', as her voice wallops through ‘Oklahoma' (a bonus track,) only minutes after a delicate, warm delivery of Noel Coward's ‘Come The Wild, Wild Weather.' She is a musical chameleon with a voice as appealing as her down-to-earth personality.

‘Wish' was Produced by Joel Moss, and Co-Produced by Michael Rafter. Executive Producers are Kurt Deutsch and Sutton Foster. The CD package features original artwork by Sutton Foster.

Track listing for ‘Wish':
1. I'm Beginning to See The Light - (Duke Ellington, Don George, Johnny Hodges, Harry James)
2. Warm All Over (Frank Loesser)
3. The Late, Late Show (Murray Berlin, Roy Alfred)
4. Up on the Roof (Carole King, Gerald Goffin) * this song is dedicated to Christine Zic
5. My Romance/Danglin' - (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers/Maury Yeston)
6. I Like The Sunrise (Duke Ellington)
7. Air Conditioner (Christine Lavin)
8. Sunshine on My Shoulders - (John Denver, Richard Kniss, Michael Taylor)
9. My Heart Was Set on You - (Jeff Blumenkrantz)
10. Flight (Craig Carnelia) - Duet with Megan McGinnis
11. Once Upon A Time - (Charles Strouse, Lee Adams)
12. Nobody's Cryin' (Patty Griffin)
13. Come the Wild, Wild Weather - (Noel Coward)
14. On My Way (Music by Jeanine Tesori, Lyrics by Brian Crawley)
15. Oklahoma (Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers) - Bonus Track

Broadway Credits: Princess Fiona in Shrek The Musical. Inga in Young Frankenstein, Janet Van De Graaf in The Drowsy Chaperone (2006 Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations, L.A. Ovation Award), Jo in Little Women (2005 Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations), Millie in Thoroughly Modern Millie (2002 Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Astaire Awards), Eponine in Les Misérables, the 20th anniversary of Annie,The Scarlet Pimpernel, Grease. Other New York: performed concerts at Carnegie Hall (NY Pops), Lincoln Center (American Songbook series), Town Hall, Joe's Pub, Actors Fund benefit performances of Funny Girl and Chess. TV: Disney Channel's "Johnny and the Sprites," HBO's "The Flight of the Conchords." Proud Equity member.

WISH COME TRUE - Album Notes by Dick Scanlon:
The first time Sutton Foster ever laid eyes on a Broadway stage was not from the rear mezzanine, or even eighth row, center: it was from the wings of the Palace Theatre-which in the annals of show business is synonymous with reaching the top. Barely 17 years old, she'd auditioned for a chorus part in the national tour of The Will Rogers Follies in Detroit, the northern city to which her oh-so-southern family had moved. Such auditions for local talent are often just a ploy to sell some tickets via the 11 o'clock news, but, when they saw Sutton, the Follies folk wanted a second look. A month later, she was on stage at the Palace. Tommy Tune had one listen, and the high school junior became a showgirl. That was the last time Sutton played the Palace, but there is no arguing that she has since reached the top. With Wish, her debut CD, she is aiming even higher, and bringing us all that much closer to musical heaven.
If the song list is eclectic, so is the singer. You know that magical quality of morning light after a night of torrential downpour? Redemptive. Pure. Joyful, but a joy hard-won by having survived the rain. Listen to Sutton's take on "Sunshine" (a bold choice, given the knee-jerk dismissal the song often elicits). This is an ode to the sun offered up by someone who has known the clouds-perhaps quite recently-and is that much more grateful for warmth, for energy, for all that is life affirming. Optimistic by choice, because she knows the alternative is the easier option, and nothing good ever comes easy.
Sutton's first success is the stuff of legend. The show was Thoroughly Modern Millie (for which I wrote the book and lyrics) but the back-story was pure 42nd Street: cast in the chorus, promoted to the lead, and a Tony Award-winning star was born. Since that time, she's created lead roles in Little Women, The Drowsy Chaperone, Young Frankenstein and Shrek, The Musical. Five new musicals in six years-a record unmatched since Merman burst on the scene nearly eight decades ago.
Wish is the culmination of a musical expedition that began during Millie, when Sutton first started to collaborate with music director Michael Rafter beyond the confines of that show. Together, they combed through countless songs (Michael was resistant when Sutton's first suggestion was "Sunshine") and developed a means of communicating that required few words. A smile here, a shake of the head there, and a song's fate was decided. Along the way, they tried out material in sold-out gigs at Lincoln Center and Joe's Pub, all of which I attended. It's thrilling for me to hear the songs that made the cut-and to remember some of the loopier experiments that didn't. (If you like loopy, check out the bonus track.)

Sutton and I met in 1998, when she auditioned for an early Millie reading, singing "A Cockeyed Optimist." (See "Optimistic by choice, " above.) I had the feeling I was watching a filly still finding her legs. As our working relationship deepened, I was struck by her impeccable manners (it's that Georgia upbringing), not to mention her keen, quiet intelligence: whenever I handed Sutton a freshly rewritten scene, she would not only memorize it in seconds flat, she'd (100% correctly) deduce the dramaturgical reasons behind the changes.

Throughout rehearsals for Millie, I only ever saw Sutton in sweatpants or jeans. Not until she stepped on stage in a flapper dress did I realize that this filly had indeed found her legs. And they're pretty fabulous: at once gawky and gazelle-like. Yet another one of the contradictions that made Sutton an overnight success-if the ten years and four Broadway shows between that audition at the Palace and Thoroughly Modern Millie can be called "overnight." I remember Tommy Tune coming twice during previews to celebrate the star Sutton was becoming, along with so many former cast mates, curious to see if success had changed her. It hasn't. As her artistry deepens, so does her capacity to step out of the spotlight and beam her attention on those she holds dear. Even this writer, who barraged her with notes for the better part of two years.

Now we're neighbors. We pass each other walking our dogs at the pre-coffee hour of 10 am, and we nod. During our dogs' afternoon stroll, we stop for a quick catch-up. And when one of us of needs bucking up or cheering on, we meet for dinner. To quote Noel Coward's little-known gem "Come the Wild, Wild Weather" (a Rafter contribution to Wish), "We will still be together when our life story ends, for wherever we chance to go, we will always be friends."

Lucky me. And if you're about to experience Sutton and her Wish, for the first time or the hundredth, lucky you.
Dick Scanlan December, 2008