BWW Reviews: SUTTON FOSTER Shines In OCPAC Cabaret

There are simply not enough superlatives available to sufficiently describe how amazingly good Tony Award winner Sutton Foster is...but here's an attempt...

An accomplished comedienne, an emotionally powerful actress, and a gifted vocalist worthy of large marquees, Foster allowed all three to be fully experienced live in her exquisite showcase An Evening with Sutton Foster, a song collection of her Broadway hits, personal favorites, and selections from her debut solo album Wish. As part of the Orange County Performing Arts Center's Cabaret Series—playing at the Samueli Theater until Sunday, January 9—Foster essentially offers up a master class in entertaining by providing her audience with a healthy dose of musical evidence as to why she has spent most of the past decade as Broadway's go-to darling. Whether delivering witty or touching lyrics, slipping out charmingly hilarious quips, or belting the bejeesus out of one of her signature tunes, Foster does not disappoint in her 1 hour-and-20-minute set.

Stripped of special effects, complicated costumes and glittery cast members that have normally surrounded the star in such big musicals like Shrek and Young Frankenstein, the intimate setting of a cabaret show provides fans with an even closer proximity to her huge talents. Aided only by musical director Michael Rafter's meticulous accompaniment on the piano, Foster's musical brilliance truly shines as she eloquently renders every song with great success. Her singing truly sounds effortless, and in an instant, she can seamlessly transition from heartwarming to heartbreaking.

Watching and hearing her perform is all you need to realize that you are in the presence of Broadway royalty. It's that same awe-struck reaction that catapulted her to stardom. Much like the clichéd storyline of 42nd Street, Sutton's big break came when—while in rehearsals at the La Jolla Playhouse for the pre-Broadway tryouts of Thoroughly Modern Millie—she was suddenly tapped to assume the lead role from Erin Dilly. Though relatively unknown at the time (her previous credits included Grease!, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Annie, and as Eponine in the 2000 production of Les Misérables), Foster became an overnight sensation and later went on to win the Tony Award, the Drama Desk Award, and the Outer Critics Circle Award for the role.

Her meteoric rise continued with more critically acclaimed roles in Little Women: The Musical, The Drowsy Chaperone (which had its out-of-town tryouts here in Southern California at the Ahmanson Theatre), Young Frankenstein, and, most recently, in Shrek: The Musical. She will soon star as Reno Sweeney in the Broadway revival of Anything Goes this spring.

With a gleam in her eye and a charming, adorable smile—slightly mischievous, though thoroughly beguiling—Foster begins her solo concert with a plucky, playfully jazzed-up arrangement of "Something's Coming" from West Side Story. She follows it with a medley of songs from three of her life-changing roles on Broadway: "Not For The Life Of Me" (the delightful opener of Millie), "NYC" (from Annie), and "Astonishing" (her showstopper from Little Women). Much like that very medley, her set list for the evening is the perfect balance of light-hearted, playful charmers, poignant and sometimes emotionally-wrenching torch songs, and diva-licious 11 o'clock numbers—all designed to showcase her impressive range. As far as a performer, Sutton can do no wrong, frankly.

With ballads, Foster is unbelievably superb, as she caresses each song with a masterful, emotional heft that bests many of her similar contemporaries. Her versions of "Warm All Over" (from Frank Loesser's The Most Happy Fella) and Duke Ellington's "I Like The Sunrise" are so well done, they made me even tear up a bit. Even Jeff Blumenkrantz's "My Heart Was Set On You," though seemingly cute and funny at first becomes beautifully poignant in the end. She also offers up "More To The Story" a wonderful song that was cut out of Shrek. And as a special added treat, Foster is joined on stage by her friend and former Little Women co-star Megan McGinnis in a duet on the song "Flight." It's a moving, stirring performance.

Her brilliance as a comic too is undeniable, like in "Air Conditioner," a refreshingly honest ode to the sole item she requires of her suitors, or with "I Don't Want To Show Off," her funny, ballsy, false modesty anthem she sang in Drowsy Chaperone (here, she even brings out her actual Tony Award to, you know, show it off). She also earns a quite a few laughs while explaining the deleted song "S'posin'" from Millie. Foster is so gifted in her comic, deadpan delivery and easily makes her audience chuckle with hysterics. Her in-between bits and banter with the audience feels breezy and almost unscripted, and she really knows how to play to her savvy, mixed-aged audience—and to her rabid fans, of course. 

In a series of two "random" comic bits during the night, Foster first trots out a cup bedazzled with the words "Pimp" on it—surely on loan from rapper Little Wayne. Inside the cup, Foster has placed a few "Angel Cards" from her youth to draw from to dictate the mood she must sing her next song.

Later in the evening, the "Ho" cup (the "Pimp" cup's companion, naturally) is revealed. In it, she has placed five famous Broadway showstoppers from her Big Book of Reeeally Big Belt Songs, and a "random" audience member must pick a song from the cup for Foster to sing. At the Friday night performance, her randomly selected song was "And I Am Telling You, I'm Not Going" from Dreamgirls, which she gamely takes on with a tongue-in-cheek, yet insanely impressive rendition, complete with Jennifer Holliday's signature grunts. "I'mma Get My Effie On!" she proudly declares. Dang, this girl's pipes are powerful!

And in her hands, run-of-the-mill pop tunes are re-jiggered as lush, gorgeous new classics, such as her takes on The Drifters's "Up On The Roof" and the newly bittersweet John Denver cheesefest "Sunshine On My Shoulders." By the time she reaches an apex with the powerful mash up of Stephen Sondheim's "Anyone Can Whistle" and "Being Alive" the audience can no longer contain their loud, thunderous applause.

An absolute pleasure of a show, An Evening With Sutton Foster is truly an 'evening' you should catch. Immediately. It's the perfect way to see and hear this incredible Broadway star do something just as remarkable as all her Tony nominated roles: being herself.

Read BWW's latest interview with Sutton Foster here.

Photo by Laura Marie Duncan.

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Sutton Foster performs at the Samueli Theater at the Orange County Performing Arts Center as part of the 2010-2011 Cabaret Series from January 6 – 9, 2011, with shows Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and a final show on Sunday at 7 p.m. Tickets are $74 and can be purchased online at OCPAC.org, by calling 714.556.2787, or by visiting the Box Office in person at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa. A limited amount of Student Rush tickets may also be available for $15, 1 hour before showtime, ID required, 1 ticket per ID, cash only. Call ahead for availability.
 
The Orange County Performing Arts Center's 2010-2011 Cabaret Series continues with Nathan Gunn on March 24 - 27, 2011.

The Samueli Theater is located at 615 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa.

For more information on this, visit OCPAC.org. Visit Sutton Foster's web site at www.suttonfoster.com.

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