"Bunheads," from "Gilmore Girls" creator Amy Sherman-Palladino, has Foster playing a Las Vegas showgirl who marries and relocates to her husband's small town to work at her mother-in-law's dance studio. Foster's mother-in-law is played by fellow theatre veteran Kelly Bishop.

"I spent 20 years of my life with my hair in a bun," said Sherman-Palladino when the project was picked up to pilot in September. "I was supposed to be a dancer. My mother was a dancer. Her greatest heartbreak was when I got on 'Roseanne.' So, while writing this will never equal playing Rumpelteazer in a bus-and-truck tour of Cats, it does let me to tip my hat to a really special time in my life."

At ABC Family's upfront, Sherman-Palladino said, "I’m waiting for the world to see Sutton Foster. I sound like a complete broken record, and someday, Sutton and I may be, like, in the middle of the street throwing pans at each other or something."

Foster, who has made guest appearances on the television series "Flight of the Conchords," "Johnny and the Sprites" and NBC's "Law & Order: SVU," won Tony Awards for Anything Goes and Thoroughly Modern Millie. She was nominated for her performances in Little Women, The Drowsy Chaperone and Shrek, and was also seen in Young Frankenstein, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Annie, Grease and Les Miserables.