The Drama League to Honor Sutton Foster at Fall Gala

The Drama League has announced that award-winning actor, singer and dancer Sutton Foster is the Honoree at the 36th Annual Drama League Benefit Gala. The black-tie evening honoring Ms. Foster - two-time Tony Award, Drama Desk, Outer Critics, Fred Astaire, and Gracie Award winner -- will take place on Monday, October 28, 2019 beginning at 6:30 p.m. in New York City at The Plaza(768 Fifth Avenue).

"The Drama League is thrilled to celebrate Sutton Foster for her artistic brilliance and enduring impact on the American theater next October," said Stelian-Shanks. "Sutton is treasured for her talents as an actress in plays, musicals, in television and film, but we also want to celebrate her passion for sharing the arts with future generations. She embodies the best of what our industry can be. We are honored to have the opportunity to celebrate her achievements as she prepares to return to Broadway next season."

The 36th Annual Benefit Gala will feature The Drama League's signature one-night-only musical tribute in Ms. Foster's honor, with performances by stars of both stage and screen. Past Drama League Benefit Galas have included appearances by such artists as Liza Minnelli, Santino Fontana, Matthew Broderick, Susan Stroman, Carol Kane, Kevin Kline, Neil Patrick Harris, Stephen Colbert, Harry Connick, Jr., Audra McDonald, Patti LuPone, Kristin Chenoweth, Angela Lansbury, Tony Bennett, Nick Jonas, Kermit the Frog, and casts of Broadway's hottest musicals. The Cast and Creative Team for the gala will be announced in the Fall. For information about tickets, which include tables for ten and individual seats, please call (212) 244-9494, ext. 101 or visit www.dramaleague.org.

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Sutton Foster is a two-time Tony winning actress, singer and dancer who will next be seen on Broadway in the highly anticipated revival of The Music Man, opposite Hugh Jackman in the fall of 2020. She previously starred in the title role of The New Group's 50th anniversary revival of Sweet Charity, for which she earned Lucille Lortel, Drama Desk and Drama League nominations. Directed by Leigh Silverman, the show ran at the Pershing Square Signature Center in November 2016. Sutton previously starred in the title role of Jeanine Tesori and Brian Crawley's Tony-nominated Broadway revival Violet, earning Tony, Drama League, Drama Desk, Outer Critic Circle and Broadway.com Audience Choice Award nominations. Sutton first performed the role of Violet in the acclaimed concert performance at City Center Encores! Off-Center in July 2013. Sutton also appeared on stage as Queenie in New York City Center Encores! Off-Center's production of The Wild Party in July 2015.

Perhaps best-known for her role as Reno Sweeney in the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of Anything Goes, Foster earned a 2011 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, as well as the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, the Fred and Adele Astaire, and Broadway.com's Audience Favorite Awards for her performance as a former Evangelist, now nightclub singer, aboard an ocean liner bound from New York to London.

Under the direction of Michael Mayer, Sutton starred as Millie Dillmount, a young, modern woman from Kansas who travels to New York City intending to marry for money, in the 2002 Broadway production of Thoroughly Modern Millie. Originating the role, Sutton established herself as one of the greatest talents in the industry and earned a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, as well as the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and the Fred and Adele Astaire Awards.

In addition to her Tony-winning performances, Foster originated numerous notable roles, including Princess Fiona in Jeanine Tesori and David Lindsay-Abaire's Shrek The Musical. Starring opposite Brian d'Arcy James, she won her second Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical and was nominated for a Tony, Drama League, and Drama Desk Awards. Foster also originated the role of Inga, the yodeling lab assistant to Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, in Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan's parody of the horror film genre, Young Frankenstein.

Her performance as Janet Van De Graaff in Casey Nicholaw's The Drowsy Chaperone in 2006 earned her Tony Award, Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle, and Ovation Award nominations. Previously, Sutton took on the role of Jo, the brassy tomboy and aspiring writer, in the 2005 Broadway production of Little Women, directed by Susan H. Schulman. For this role, she earned Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League and Outer Critics Circle nominations. Her other theater credits include: Les Miserables, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Annie, and Grease. Foster made her Off-Broadway debut as Prudence in Paul Weitz's comedy Trust at Second Stage Theatre, also starring Zach Braff, Bobby Cannavale, and Ari Graynor.

As a solo artist, Sutton has toured the country with her hit solo concert featuring songs from her debut solo CD "Wish" as well as her follow up CD "An Evening With Sutton Foster: Live at the Cafe Carlyle." She has graced the stages of Carnegie Hall, Feinstein's, Lincoln Center's American Songbook series and many others. Sutton released her third solo album, 'Take Me to the World', through Ghostlight Deluxe in 2018. Sutton recently concluded a sold out run at New York City's famous Café Carlyle in the summer of 2019, and will appear as the 'Baker's Wife' in the upcoming Hollywood Bowl production of Into the Woods, set to run from July 26-28, 2019.

Foster currently stars as Liza in the critically-acclaimed TV Land series, "Younger." Created by "Sex and the City's" Darren Star and styled by the iconic Patricia Field, the series centers around a 40-year-old suburban single mother, Liza, who re-invents herself as a 26-year-old in order to get a job at a publishing company. Also starring Hilary Duff, Nico Tortorella, Miriam Shor and Debi Mazar, the series returned for its sixth season in 2019.

Previously, Foster starred as Michelle Simms in Amy Sherman-Palladino's ABC Family series, "Bunheads", about a former ballerina turned Las Vegas showgirl who gets married and winds up teaching at her new mother-in-law's ballet school in a sleepy costal town. Sutton earned a Critics' Choice Television Award nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance. Sutton recently reunited with Sherman-Palladino in a guest starring role on the highly-anticipated Netflix revival "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life", which was released on November 25, 2016.

Foster was first seen on television on "Star Search" at the young age 15, and has more recently appeared in HBO's comedy series "Flight of the Conchords," USA Network's "Royal Pains," "Law & Order: SUV" and "Elementary." She has also made guest appearances on the well-known children series Disney's "Johnny and the Sprites," and PBS's "Sesame Street."

In 2014, Sutton made her feature film debut in Phil Alden Robinson's The Angriest Man in Brooklyn, alongside an all-star cast including Mila Kunis, Peter Dinklage, Robin Williams, Melissa Leo and James Earl Jones. Sutton also appeared as Kerry in James Roday's comedy-horror film Gravy.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos