Review: SUTTON FOSTER at Café Carlyle

There are rare things in the world that should be cherished when they appear, like quality moments in time and picturesque evenings under the stars in the moonlight. Sutton Foster’s set at The Carlyle was both these things. Sutton Foster AT Cafe Carlyle is an enchanting, intimate evening with a singer whose clean, crisp vocals made easy work of songs from Stephen Sondheim and Stevie Wonder. And what a wonder she was, as she breezed through her set, from song to song, sharing details of her journey as a mother, and some of her favorite moments from the stage. From the early song “Breeze off the River,” from The Full Monty, Foster enraptured the audience.

Foster consistently blended tempo and filled each moment with authenticity, leaving smiles of adoration throughout the room. She had a natural charisma so easy that she made brief conversations with the audience feel like we were in someone’s family home. Foster’s show did not focus on a specific writer or singer, but she made selections from an array of musicals, including The Music Man, creating a mashup of genres and styles converted into something very her own. The way each song came together, she weaved a story in song of love and loss, from note to note, pitch to pitch. The artful embrace of her easy voice captured the imagination on lines like “Goodnight my someone...Sleep tight, my love” and “True love can be whispered from heart to heart” from the song “Goodnight My Someone” from The Music Man.

Some of my other favorite songs of her magical set included “I Like to Lead When I Dance,” once made famous by Frank Sinatra, “Warm All Over” from The Most Happy Fella, and “If It’s Magic” by Stevie Wonder. The line, “So if it’s decided that this is romance,” spoke deeper of the journey of a heart, and was followed in the next song by, “Every time you smile, you get me warm all over,” until, finally, Foster sang Wonder’s lyric, “If it’s magic, why can’t we make it everlasting.” She followed this series of songs with the iconic and beautiful lamenting of “Manhattan” by Sarah Bareilles, cutting to an emotional core, as her easy way with words left a meaningful mark: “You can have Manhattan, ‘cause I can’t have you.” From there, she brought us back toward an optimistic view of the potential future, after reminding us of lessons learned through Sondheim’s “Now You Know” from Merrily We Roll Along, finishing with “There were bells on the hill, but I never heard them ringing” and the beautiful song, “’Til There Was You.”

Foster was joined on stage by Michael Rafter on the piano and Leo Heppert on bass. They supported her wonderfully and never missed a cue, as the trio made everything look easy. We can only hope that the talented actress returns again soon to the stage, at The Carlyle or another venue, to perform such beautiful music, from which I made only a small selection of certain songs that spoke most to me; the intimacy that Foster brought the audience cannot be praised enough. It was a rare evening with a rare talent that must be appreciated.

Find great shows to see on the Cafe Carlyle website HERE.

Visit the Sutton Foster website HERE.