Broadway veteran and true triple-threat Sutton Foster returns to the Great White Way this season as Reno Sweeney in Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival of Cole Porter’s Anything Goes. Her Campus NYU got the opportunity to talk with the dazzling Tony winning actress about her career, overcoming the challenges of her new role, and her teaching career at New York University.
HC NYU: How would you describe your character Reno in Anything Goes?
SF: She’s awesome! She has been one of the most challenging characters I have ever encountered. She is the fast-talking, brassy girl from the thirties right out of a movie. But she has a heart and has wants. She is someone that has seemingly everything; her own nightclub, this fabulous lifestyle, but she doesn’t have love. And it seems silly, but she doesn’t have that one thing, but everyone loves her and everyone knows her and she walks into a room and everyone goes “Reno Sweeney, there she is!” and she’s like “Yeah, that’s right!”. And she is also sort of a philosopher, like in the song “Anything Goes,” when she has her own point of view and she is the center of the wheel and everything swirls around her. And when she comes on stage, you know that something is going to happen. She is pretty fabulous.
HC NYU: Did you see the Lincoln Center revival of Anything Goes or the film version? How did that influence you in creating your own interpretation of Reno?
SF:I haven’t seen anything. I have the movie, but I never watched. I was so intimidated by the people who have played Reno before, like Patti LuPone and Ethel Merman, and I had two roads to go: either watch everything or make my own interpretation and treat it like it was a new production, and that is what I decided to do. So, I never listened to any recordings or watched any version of the show.
HC NYU: Do you have a favorite moment in the show?
SF:Probably the song “Blow, Gabriel, Blow” because it was that iconic song growing up that I knew and every night I cannot believe that I am singing it on Broadway. And I think that [director/choreographer] Kathleen Marshall did such an awesome job putting it together and it is the only time that you really see Reno do what she really does in her show. And I love doing “Gypsy In Me” with Adam Godley in the second act.
HC NYU: What is your favorite role you have ever played?
SF:Oh my gosh! I would probably say Fiona in Shrek. Because she is kind of closest to myself. And she was a bipolar princess which was really fun to play. I don’t know if I am a bipolar princess but that was fun to play crazy, and both sides of a person.
HC NYU: What has been the most challenging role you have ever had?
SF: It would definitely be Reno because the character just pushes the limits on everything; physically, emotionally, and vocally. As far as Reno and Sutton we are opposites. There are definitely aspects that we share, but we are very different, so it was hard for me to tackle her confidence and ease and I had to really confidence myself that I could do it, and that took me a long time.
HC NYU:Do you have any dream roles?
SF:Reno was one of them. Someday I would love to play Mama Rose in Gypsy but that is way down the road.
HC NYU: You’ve done solo concerts for your CD before. What do you like different about doing concerts than Broadway?
SF:Well, it is great to be able to walk on stage and be exposed as yourself. To be able to express yourself and sing and say what you want to. It is thrilling because when you play a character you are stepping into someone else’s shoes, but when you do a concert or release an album, it is your own voice. So both are very exciting. It is something that I will hopefully continue to pursue.
HC NYU: You have done some television work, would you ever consider doing more in the future?
SF: Of course, of course! It is not something that I have heavily pursued, but it is definitely something that if the right thing came along my way or something that really excited me, absolutely. I feel very open to all of that.
HC NYU: So you already have an amazing career – what made you want to be a teacher as well, and why NYU in particular?
SF: Ever since I was a kid I had two major passions and they were performing and teaching. I always wanted to be a teacher and my dream was to be a working actor in New York and also teach in New York, and NYU is just the perfect place for me since it allowed me to stay in the city. I had an affiliation with Elizabeth Bradley, who works at Tisch, and she used to work at Carnegie Mellon which is where I went to school, and that is how I got involved at NYU. And it has been one of the greatest experiences of my life to be able to teach there. And a lot of it has to do with my schedule with performing, but I really hope that I can continue to combine both of them throughout my career.
HC NYU: If you weren’t an actress, could you ever see yourself doing anything else?
SF:Besides teaching, I would be a food critic. I like food a lot, and fancy foods. I don’t think I would want to eat anything really scary though, but I think that it would be a fun job. Or a travel host who travels around the world.
HC NYU: Do you have any advice for current NYU students?
SF: Be yourself, be authentic, and find your own voice. It is hard to do when you are 18, 19, 20 years-old, but don’t try to emulate anyone else’s career, blaze your own path. Your uniqueness and singularity is your own strength.
Photos Courtesy:
http://www.suttonfoster.com/gallery.htm