Before The New Group鈥檚 Sweet Charity began performances November 2 at The Pershing Square Signature Center, Sutton Foster said she was excited. Excited and scared.
鈥淓qual parts terror; equal parts excitement,鈥� she admitted. 鈥淭his is probably going to be one of the hardest things I鈥檝e ever done, [and] ever tackled.鈥�
Those words seem hard to imagine coming from the two-time Tony Award-winning star of Thoroughly Modern Millie and Anything Goes, two of Broadway鈥檚 most tap-driven musicals, and a Tony nominee for her performances in Little Women, The Drowsy Chaperone, Shrek the Musical, and Violet. With such a varied resume and years of acclaim, how could an Off-Broadway revival of a tried-and-true Fosse classic be the most difficult thing Foster has done?
But she was serious. 鈥淓very day, I have Remedial 101, my dance hour, where they bring me in just by myself, so I could learn all the steps before everybody else because I need extra time,鈥� she laughed. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 great. Thank God they allow me to do that.鈥�
Foster plays Charity Hope Valentine, a taxi dancer at New York City鈥檚 Fandango Ballroom who鈥檚 looking for love, in the three-time extended production through January 8, 2017. It鈥檚 a part she鈥檚 always wanted to play, even if she鈥檚 not quite sure why.
鈥淚t was always a role that was on my radar, and maybe because I鈥檝e always wanted to be Shirley MacLaine,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut I really didn鈥檛 dive into the show until we started working on it here. It just felt like a role that was out in the world, that I was like, 鈥極h, I want to do that!鈥� I felt the same way with Reno Sweeney [in Anything Goes]. Basically, I wanted to follow in the footsteps of Patti LuPone, so I was like, 鈥業f Patti does it, I want to do it.鈥� And I guess I felt the same way about Charity. But, what鈥檚 been more revealing to me about Charity than Reno is that鈥� I鈥檓 much more of the world of Charity than I was of Reno. Reno was such a stretch for me. This feels much more like, 鈥業 know who this person is,鈥� so it鈥檚 been really fun to dive in. Especially, where I am in my life. I鈥檓 getting older.鈥�
Foster called up director Leigh Silverman, with whom she worked with on Broadway鈥檚 Violet, and said she needed her to stage it.
鈥淚 actually didn鈥檛 know the show that well at all,鈥� Silverman said, 鈥渟o I was really excited to just be able to wrap my brain around it. She called me and said it was a part she always wanted to play, and I was like, 鈥楾hat鈥檚 amazing, you鈥檇 be incredible.鈥� And then I was like, 鈥業 better get a good idea.鈥� So I went away and tried to get a good idea!鈥�
The idea was to strip it down to its core. What鈥檚 normally a splashy musical with a large cast has been pared down to a 12-member ensemble with a six-piece band in an intimate house and a thrusted stage. She enlisted Joshua Bergasse, the Emmy-winning choreographer of Smash and the Tony-nominated choreographer of On the Town, to bring a new flair to the classic Fosse.
Though Sweet Charity is known for the iconic Bob Fosse treatment, Foster said, 鈥渉e鈥檚 able to breathe new life into it for 2016, and, working with Leigh, it鈥檚 all about the story, so it鈥檚 infusing the dance with even more storytelling. He鈥檚 pushing me.鈥�
She added, 鈥淲e could have done a big commercial production, but I like doing it like this. It feels like a brand-new production. That鈥檚 how I鈥檓 treating it.鈥�
As for the fear, 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 one of the reasons I choose what I do,鈥� Foster said. 鈥淚f I want to run away from it, then it usually means it鈥檚 the thing I should be doing.鈥�
Michael Gioia is the Features Manager at 半岛体育.com. Follow him on Twitter at .
