Tuesday, April 29, 2008

New York, Spring 2008 -- Day Thirteen, "Sutton Foster"

Just a brief entry, as a formal review (or as formal as my "reviews" get) is not required for such an informal evening.

Sutton Foster, Broadway star of "Thoroughly Modern Millie," "Little Women," "Young Frankenstein" and the upcoming "Shrek: The Musical" is recording her first album in a couple of weeks. So, in order to gauge which songs are working best with audiences, she booked herself for a late night Monday gig at Joe's Pub. There, in front of a crowd of 150 or so (including her brother, fellow Broadway star Hunter Foster and fellow "YF" cast member Andrea Martin), Sutton stepped up to the mic for an hour or so of songmaking with a three-piece band behind her.

In addition to some lovely ballads (most of which I had never heard), Sutton did a great version of "Oklahoma!" (presumably for Martin, who played Ado Annie in the most recent Broadway revival) and a very funny song about being out on a hot summer night and willing to go home with any man as long as he has air conditioning.

Though her voice was tentative on a couple of occasions, Sutton has an easy stage presence and a very relaxed manner with an audience that makes for a wonderful evening.

One other thing: if you plan on seeing anything at Joe's Pub, plan to have a snack there. Making a table reservation makes it much easier to get a seat close to the action.

NOTE: for some reason, this never posted the day I had intended it to.

No comments: