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DIVA TALK: Chatting with Young Frankenstein's Sutton Foster Plus Betty Buckley at Town Hall
By Andrew Gans
26 Oct 2007
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Sutton Foster
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News, views and reviews about the multi-talented women of the musical theatre and the concert/cabaret stage.
SUTTON FOSTER
Tony Award winner Sutton Foster is enjoying a stage career unlike any other musical theatre actress of her generation. After stepping into the casts of the original production of Les Misérables (a late-in-the-run Eponine) and the 1994 revival of Grease! (a replacement Sandy), Foster created the role of A Star to Be ("NYC, Just got here this morning! . ." ) in the 1997 revival of Annie. She was featured in the ensemble of The Scarlet Pimpernel and then landed her breakthrough role, Millie Dillmount in the 2002 Tony winner for Best Musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie. That Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning performance brought Foster to the attention of theatregoers: Here was a young woman with a clear, rangy and powerful belt, who could also act and dance — and had a rare gift for comedy. Foster also received Tony nominations for her next two Broadway outings: as Jo March in the musical version of Little Women and for her work as Janet Van De Graaff, the young starlet of The Drowsy Chaperone, who plans to leave showbiz behind for the love of her life. The celebrated singing actress is now back on Broadway in what may be her most high-profile assignment, playing Inga (the role created on screen by Teri Garr) in the eagerly awaited new Susan Stroman-directed Young Frankenstein. The musical, based on the classic Mel Brooks film of the same name, is currently in previews at the Hilton Theatre and will officially open Nov. 8. A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of chatting with Foster about her latest stage role.
Question: When did you originally become involved with Young Frankenstein?
Sutton Foster: About a year ago we did a reading. The first day of rehearsal was on Halloween. We walked in, and there was a pumpkin with a Frankenstein face on it. It was a week-long reading.
Question: Were you playing the same role?
Foster: I was playing Inga, yeah.
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Roger Bart and Sutton Foster in Young Frankenstein
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| photo by Paul Kolnik |
Question: Was the cast much different at that point?
Foster: At that point Brian d'Arcy James was playing Dr. Frankenstein, Kristin Chenoweth was playing the Elizabeth part, Roger Bart was playing Igor, Cloris Leachman was playing Frau Blucher. Shuler was the monster, and Fred Applegate played the blind man, but Marc Kudisch was also involved and played Inspector Kemp. That part got combined for the production now. Now, Fred plays Inspector Kemp and the blind man. So I guess it was a little different. [Laughs.] I think Shuler and I were the only ones that stayed the same.
Question: Had you been a fan of the film before this — did you know Mel Brooks' work?
Foster: I think my first Mel Brooks film was "Spaceballs." I guess that was more my generation. I remember "Spaceballs" very vividly. I saw "Young Frankenstein" for the first time when I was out of town with Little Women. I think that was the first time I had seen it. We had a party for Halloween. We were down at Duke University before Little Women came to New York, and someone brought "Young Frankenstein." It was funny because there was a woman involved with the show [who] kept saying all of the lines along with the movie, and everyone was getting really annoyed. [Laughs.] But it's that kind of iconic film, where people know the lines and they say them along with you.
Question: Were you involved with Young Frankenstein at that point or was that before you had been asked to be part of the show?
Foster: That was way before. I think it was just an idea at that point. I just became involved last year, I guess toward the end of the summer. My agent called and said they wanted me to be in the reading. I freaked out and ran around in circles and then sat back down and was like, "Are you serious?" I was just so honored to be asked to be a part of it.
Question: Were you in Drowsy at that point?
Foster: I was in Drowsy. It was in between shows on a Wednesday when my agent called. I was eating dinner with my dresser in the dressing room. [My agent] called and I jumped up and ran around, and my dresser's like, "What? What? What?" And I said, "I just got asked to be a part of Young Frankenstein!" It was just so cool. I couldn't believe it because it came out of nowhere.
Question: How did your character change from that workshop to the rehearsals for the Seattle out-of-town tryout?
Foster: It was pretty much the same. They had added quite a considerable amount to my first number, and they wrote another song for me. During the reading I only had one song and then a little reprise of something else. So they wrote a new song for the second act and then they really elaborated my first song.
Question: What was the new song?
Foster: The new song they wrote is called "Listen to Your Heart." It's basically "Let's forget about thinking/Thinking's never smart/Flush your brain right down the drain/ And listen to your heart." I'm basically trying to get him to have sex with me. [Laughs.] It's like, "Don't think about it! Just have sex with me!"
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Sutton Foster and Roger Bart
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| photo by Paul Kolnik |
Question: How would you describe the character of Inga?
Foster: Well, she is a Transylvanian farm girl who went to Heidelberg Junior College to study laboratory science. She's very smart, but she's very European, very free, very loving. She enjoys a good roll in the hay. She's just very joyful and a free spirit. She adores the doctor and is just there to serve him.
Question: What was the Seattle tryout like? How did audiences respond?
Foster: It was amazing. . . . I've never been in a show that had so much anticipation. . . . At the first preview we stood at the end of the show, and the response was so extreme that it just negated itself. I have nothing to compare it to, so it just flipped back to zero, and I just stood there drooling with my mouth open. I didn't know how to take it all in. [Laughs.] I just felt like this is such a rare opportunity and experience to be able to be in the same room with Susan Stroman and Mel Brooks and all of these incredible people. I mean the cast — just the level of talent and professionalism and experience is just amazing. It's just so cool to be included. I had that moment, even during rehearsals, I was like, "How did I get here? How did this happen?" So much of my career [has been] things that happened just so fast, and I was just like, "What? How did this happen?" It was just amazing to be there in Seattle. You always hope that New York audiences will love it, and I'm so excited for our first preview here. There's nothing like that first preview, the first time people are seeing a show. They're discovering it, and we're discovering it, too. I will never forget that first preview in Seattle. I feel that way about all the shows I've done. The first preview of Drowsy in Los Angeles, I will never forget the first time people laughed at [the line] "I hate theatre." We were all standing backstage in the dark. And you know that first line. And we're like, "Will they laugh, will they not?" Then you're like, "Oh my God, they're laughing! They like us!" . . . You think, "Oh, this is a really cool number," and you hope that [the audience does] too, and when they do, it's so victorious, it's so exciting.
Question: How much did the show change during the Seattle run?
Foster: The main things were cuts and tightening. That happens a lot. The good thing about it was that there were no major structural changes. Sometimes you go out of town and they're like, "Oh my God. We have to completely rework the second act, we have to cut numbers and rewrite numbers." One number was cut in the first act, and that happened a week or two into previews. And then just lots of internal cuts, little line additions. Mel and Tom [Meehan] were there the whole time, and they would be like, "Try saying this…" And you go, "Okay!" Or we would come up with an idea. It was just an incredible collaboration of comedians. Everyone is so smart. We kept working throughout the whole run in Seattle, primarily cutting time and trying to tighten the show. Then when we got here, we've been in rehearsals, and it's been more tightening and tweaking. It's like giving it a little plastic surgery, trying to make it as perfect as we can [by] altering all of the little details.
Question: Is this your first time working with Susan Stroman?
Foster: Yes, first time.
Question: Tell me about her style as a director and a choreographer.
Foster: I've admired her forever. Crazy for You is probably one of my favorite shows of all time. She brings with her a level of talent and respect. She walks into a room, and she is so prepared that everybody who works with her rises to the occasion. They all rise to her level. She's working on a ten out of ten. She comes in, and I've never seen someone more prepared. Her vision and the way that she works things out in her head and then the way that they unfold in front of your eyes [is amazing]. . . . There's a number in the first act that I'm not in. I had come to rehearsal early, and they were still working on it. I was like, "Oh, I get to see the number!" So I sat down and I watched. Next thing I know I'm bawling because it was just so thrilling. She draws the best out of everyone on every level. Everyone's bringing their "A" Game. Everybody — props, sets, lighting, sound, musical department, everyone in the cast. She uses everyone's strengths. She only wants to make you feel amazing. She's so supportive. I can't say enough about her. I love her, and I admire her so much, but I also think she's unparalleled with what she can do with a musical number and what she brings out of people. It's unbelievable. I'd work with her again and again and again. I hope I get to.
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Sutton Foster and the Young Frankenstein ensemble.
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| photo by Paul Kolnik |
Question: She and Mel Brooks seem to have a really good working relationship. Was he at all the rehearsals as well?
Foster: Yeah, he was ever-present. There was a time when we would work and do choreography and staging, then he and Tom would come in at the second half of the day and watch the rehearsals. But they are so ever-present. They saw every show in Seattle. You know, you're in a room with Mel Brooks — I was really nervous at first because I'm like, "Oh, I don't want to bother him." The next thing I know he's kissing me on the cheek, we're having dinner, and I'm like, "I'm hangin' out with Mel Brooks!" [Laughs.] But he's been, of course, an integral part of the whole thing. It's exciting just to have him in the room and [hear him] shout out an idea or a line. We pitched him ideas. We're up there pitching to him, and if he laughs, you're like, "Yay!" It's just been incredible. I'm just trying not to take any moment for granted because it's such a rare, awesome experience and such an awesome time in my life. It's just been amazing.
Question: Do you have a favorite moment for Inga in the show?
Foster: I really love my character. I have a lot of favorite moments. I really love working with Roger [Bart]. I think he's fantastic. We do the bookcase scene, which is iconic from the film. It's so fun to do every night. And then in the second act with "Listen to Your Heart," I get to seduce him every night. That's really fun, too. I look forward to those two moments. He's so fun to work with.
Question: Do you get any stage time with Andrea Martin? I'm a big admirer of hers as well.
Foster: She's a genius. First of all, I think the world of her, and I think she's brilliant in the show. But I also think she's a wonderful person offstage as well. We're like kindred spirits that come together and support each other. We don't have a lot of stuff one-on-one, but Roger, Chris, Andrea and I spend a lot of the show together. We're like a little foursome. We do a lot together, and that's really fun.
Question: Has there been any talk of a cast recording yet?
Foster: Oh, definitely. I just don't know when we're recording it, and I don't know who's recording it, [but] there'll definitely be a recording.
Question: There's been a lot written about the premium ticket prices for the show. I was wondering what your thoughts about that are.
Foster: What makes me sad is that I hate that that's become the negative focus about our show. It seems like anytime anything is written about the show, they're like, "Oh, the ticket prices, blah blah blah." But the whole point behind those premium seats is to combat the scalpers. I also think that what's not written about often is the fact that these are only a select small amount of seats, and that there are tons of seats available at various prices, as well as student tickets that I think are for the first two rows of the orchestra, which I think are $25. I feel like it's getting a sort of negative rap that that's all that we're offering, when that's not true. It's a tricky thing because I have nothing to do with [setting the prices of tickets]. If I wanted to go see Young Frankenstein, I'd buy a $120 ticket. For me, I'm not going to buy a $450 seat. I'm going to buy a $120 seat, [and] it'll still be a great seat. . . I hope that, as people write more and more about the show, they'll write less and less about the tickets and more about the awesomeness of the show itself.
Question: With Millie and Little Women you pretty much were carrying the show, while in Drowsy and here, it seems like it's more an ensemble piece. Do you have a preference?
Foster: When I think about the type of career that I want, I really love doing new musicals and I love being a part of creating a new musical. I love being on Broadway, I love live theatre, and I really want — hopefully, knock on everything — to have a long career here. So I feel like that includes doing everything. What appealed to me about Drowsy was the idea of being a part of something that was completely original [as well as] working with [director-choreographer] Casey Nicholaw and working with [producer] Kevin McCollum. The character was totally different. I loved the idea of being part of an ensemble because I felt like the pressures of carrying a show were starting to weigh on me. I was having a hard time balancing my life and doing a show. Then when this opportunity came, again it was like, "Oh my God, this is an offer I can't refuse." Working with Susan Stroman, working with Mel Brooks, being part of something so mammoth. And then also, again, a character that's unlike anything I've ever done. I love being able to play supporting characters. I enjoy playing leading characters, too. I don't know what I prefer. Right now, where I am in my life, I think these type of jobs are very rejuvenating and healing against the demands of carrying a show. Right now, this is perfect. And then maybe down the road, I'll be ready to take on the reins of being the leading lady of a show again. And I hope I get that opportunity. Continued...
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