Sutton Foster - Anything Goes

[BrightEyes10003]

@Walt1896TheClone woooow. You are such a loser. And I'm not scared of getting this comment taken doin, want to know why? Because I actually have a life outside of YouTube.

[figureskate1000]

I would kill to be in the ensemble of a Sutton show.

[GeraldR5]

Wow!!! Sutton is fantastic, as always. One of the truly great performers of this generation!!!

[walt1896]

Porter would indeed be overjoyed at her musicality, acting and comedic timing (not to mention the dancing that she brings to the role in this and Gabriel) She shares the clarity of Merman and the musical phrasing of Porter's other great star, Mary Martin ("My Heart Belongs to Daddy" Leave it to Me 1938) Sutton is a unique force in the history of Broadway leading ladies. Joel Grey, remaining respectful of the leads he has worked with, has essentially called her the greatest he's ever seen.

[mmbr01rrf]

@walt1896 HEAR,HEAR ! Well said, agree with every single word you posted. Again- HEAR, HEAR !

[walt1896]

This isn't here forte? (see reviews of papers of note, the Tony, comments of Broadway legends) Has a good career building (Merely good? Only two women have more nominations for best lead in a musical, Peters age 63 and Rivera age 78. Two more and Sutton shares the all-time lead. She now has 5 at age 36. And only 3 women have more Tony's for Best Lead. They are:

Mary Martin,3

Gwen Verdon,3

Angela Lansbury,4

[walt1896]

NY mag "On her watch, Gabriel doesn’t blow quite as hard as he has in the past. But that’s not to say she doesn’t command the follow-spot with a flick of her amused eyebrow." In a show about pretense and hypocrisy, if it’s about anything (and let’s not fool ourselves: Anything Goes isn't about much), Foster is the most genuine merchandise on deck."

[walt1896]

Who needs a brass section when you’ve got Sutton Foster? As the nightclub evangelist Reno Sweeney in the zesty new revival of “Anything Goes,” which opened on Thursday night at the Stephen Sondheim Theater, Ms. Foster has the voice of a trumpet and a big, gleaming presence that floods the house. When she leads the show-stopping “Blow, Gabriel, Blow,” you figure that if no horn-tooting archangel appears, it’s only because he’s afraid of the competition. NY Times

[walt1896]

Playbill put it best: "LuPone was a force of nature in that earlier revival, yes; but the nature in question was that of Patti LuPone. In the same way, I suppose, that Ethel Merman was pure Ethel Merman. Sutton Foster does not seem to be playing Merman or LuPone or even Foster; she is playing Reno Sweeney. With Foster acting the role, Reno Sweeney turns out to be a delightful creation rather than a costume to be fitted to the persona of the star."

[walt1896]

Sutton is indeed a mezzo with belt: A musical belt with superb phrasing not a braying shout. And, she has the finest stage instincts (movement, timing etc.) of any leading lady Broadway has ever seen imo. And, Ben Brantley certainly thinks no one today can touch her.

[NewTada]

i love her. period

[mkearley49]

That's Broadway for ya. (note absence of auto-tune)

[jcountryj]

@mmbr01rrf Are you assuming that nobody in the entire world agrees with me? I'm not knocking Sutton as a performer, just as a performer at the Tony's. I didn't see it live on Broadway, but I have heard other performers do the song much more justice. Think before you post!

[mmbr01rrf]

@jcountryj Took me awhile- this ISN'T the performance on the Tony show- sheesh .

[jcountryj]

@mmbr01rrf I said I wish she would have performed it well!! Emphasis on well.

[mmbr01rrf]

@jcountryj And you are of the opinion she performed "Anything Goes" badly ?

[mmbr01rrf]

@jcountryj Another added suggestion- get a few more years under your belt before you attempt to make such a rather scathing critique. There are more than a few people of the opinion that Sutton Foster may be a once-in-a-lifetime performer. After all, she just won a Tony for playing this role- in which she sings. But then again, that's just my humble opinion- and I have many,many years under my belt.

[jcountryj]

@imcnagpc2 I just wish she would have tried to sing solo before the dance started. I mean, I love Sutton, but this is not the song for her.

[mmbr01rrf]

@jcountryj Have you seen the whole number the way it's performed in full on stage ? She DOES sing before the dance break- she sings the first TWO verses.

[mmadden70]

i SANG with her!!! my choir (from illinois) took a trip to nashville for a week and sang with her at the rhyman!!! it was a trip of a lifetime i will NEVER forget (she even gave me a hug!!!!)

[Sakura4evea]

SUTTON SO AMAZING! she didnt hit her last note though:(

[nylilhotman]

great choreography from the old school.

[Garkid08]

she totally made this role her own. She mad Patti proud

[jcountryj]

She doesn't do much singing though :(

[imcnagpc2]

@jcountryj Try singing solo after you've been dancing for 3 minutes.

[jcountryj]

This performance is so much better than the Tony Performance!!

[InTheUrbanForest]

Is there any song she can't totally boss?

[evenotadam8]

Sutton in those sailor pants. Can I get a HELLOOO.

[Shadow3103]

@evenotadam8 HOLLA. to those pants!

[vodkaman1955]

When is Sutton Foster going to star as MAME, and be the first actress to play this character the way it should be played? She can sing, she can act and she can dance...and she's youngl!!

She's simply wonderful! I think she's the the best star on Broadway for years, and I can't believe how underrated she still is!!

[rockgor]

The show was just nominated for 9 Tony Awards including best revival

and best actress (Sutton).  Looks like an award winner to me.

5/3/11

[americainegirl19]

Three cheers for the long-legged ladies of theatre!!!

[waynebrasler]

It's a gigantic smash, large in part because of a sensational review from the New York Times. Here come the Tonys.

[marktenor227]

Saw the show Saturday. It was outstanding. That's how to do a musical!

[rockgor]

Wow! That was great. First time I've seen Sutton. (How'd she get that

name?) She has the classic dancer's build. Short torso and l o n g

legs.

Great song by a major Broadway composer. Cole wrote his own

witty lyrics too.

thanks for the exhilarating post.

[walt1896]

@rockgor I think she's said her mom recalled the name from the name of a female character in an old movie and fancied it.

[floritka85]

Sutton is the Patti LuPone of our generation, no question. She is and always will be nothing short of amazing.

[ugha323a]

@floritka85 She is not Lu Pone, she is just boring, no pizzaz. Yep, shes gorgeous, yep she can sing ok, but NOT a Merman, Liza or a Paulette.

[TheWWWJTFORG]

@walt1896 Nope. I just listened to the person that was criticizing her: 'ugha323'.

Ugha is better and more charming without a microphone.

This girl (Sutton) is good, but that other gal (ugha) is just better.

They didnt write songs for Sutton Foster, they wrote them for Merman who was the best.

[sinatrabooth89]

@floritka85 foster has nothing on Lupone. has not even remotely the voice and natural instincts of Lupone. Foster is good and has a good career building thus far, but she is nothing like Lupone, and just doesn't have the strong brassy musical comedy belter voice that Lupone has.

[mmbr01rrf]

@sinatrabooth89 Gee- it's too bad that Julie Andrews couldn't ever make it BIG in Musical Comedy Theater because she sure never had a strong brassy voice. I wonder what ever became of her , Hmmm???

[sinatrabooth89]

@mmbr01rrf Right but Andrews was never in a role that called for a mezzo soprano belter. Andrews could never have played Reno, and she knew that. She was always cast well. Like I said, Foster is good, and has a good career building, but this is really not her forte, this role.

[mmbr01rrf]

@sinatrabooth89 So, you've talked to Mr. Porter recently and know EXACTLY what kind of voice he wants in the roles he wrote for and ,more importantly, what kind of ACTRESS he wants in those same roles ? Will you say "Hi" to him the next time you talk to him ? Thanks LOL. Now, he was known to desire singers who could succinctly and clearly sing each word to be understood. His lyrics WERE important to him.

[sinatrabooth89]

@mmbr01rrf Lol I appreciated the sarcasm, I "got a kick out of" that. And as far as the type of actress... the role was written specifically for Ethel merman. So Cole Porter had a brassy belter in mind (particularly) Merman when he wrote the music. And yes of course his lyrics were important to him, even to the point where he would designate specific pronunciations for every word he wrote.

[mmbr01rrf]

@mmbr01rrf *Alert*- more sarcasm- It's too bad Foster is so inappropriate for the role. She probably won't pick up her FIFTH Tony Nom, let alone her SECOND Tony win for her portrayal of Reno Sweeney. She then probably won't help extend the run WELL into 2012, AND snag a role in a new TV show. It'll be just a second tier carreer for her. Too bad. *Have a nice day*.

[pg1kle]

Saw her last night. Will win or should win Tony.

[bean4sarah]

Tony anyone? : )

[musicalsaremylife17]

Can this woman be anymore amazing!? <3

[bean4sarah]

@musicalsaremylife17 No : )