Two-time Tony Award winner Sutton Foster hung out with us at the BuzzFeed offices after screening her new series Younger with co-star Hilary Duff. The Broadway favorite took a trip down memory lane as we revisited the roles that lead up to her star turn on the new series from Sex and the City creator Darren Star.
Star Search:
Sutton Foster: Oh my gosh! I got three and a half stars. The guy who beat me got three and three quarter stars. I cried, I was 15.
Grease:
SF: It was just hard. It had to belt very high and didn’t have any training, so I got into trouble.
The Scarlet Pimpernel:
SF: During the “Madame Guillotine” number I never pinned my wig on. So I was an enraged crazy French person and my wig fell off. And then I had to pick it up. Then you’re stuck with your wig cap. There were fits of giggles. I threw it back on and it was a disaster.
Annie:
SF: I was only 19. And I learned a lot.
Les Misérables:
SF: People always ask, “What was my favorite?” I’d probably say that was it. Is that weird? I should probably pick something that was a little more… but, yeah, it was my favorite.
Thoroughly Modern Millie:
SF: It was also a incredibly joyful time, but also it was a terrifying time. I was so overwhelmed.
Little Women:
SF: It was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done. People really love that show, but at the time it was very challenging. In many ways, hard. Vocally hard and emotionally hard. It was just a hard time.
The Flight of the Conchords:
SF: Awww, that was awesome! They came and saw The Drowsy Chaperone and didn’t know I could sing.
The Drowsy Chaperone:
SF: Yeah, I broke my wrist out of town. I was doing “Accident Waiting to Happen,” of course. I feel and broke my wrist during rehearsals. I would do “Show Off,” but I’d do the entire thing with one hand. It was ridiculous.
Young Frankenstein:
SF: Ugh… It was a hard time personally. I was going through a major breakup. So, the whole experience was colored by that.
Shrek: The Musical:
SF: That was that. Brian d’Arcy James, who played Shrek took like an hour and a half getting into makeup. For me it was less than a minute. I’d just get attacked because I had a transformation. But then I just had green makeup residue everywhere.
Law & Order: SVU:
SF: I was a lesbian activist with Kathy Griffin, so all I did was a lot of fist-pumping. That was it. And all they gave me [for makeup] was ChapStick. I was like, that’s it?
Anything Goes:
SF: Every night, I thought my face was going to explode. It never actually did, but it always felt like it was going to. It was the highlight of my career, but I’ve never experienced that excursion. Every night I thought it was going to get easier, it never did.
Sesame Street:
SF: I cried too on that. It was awesome. It was the best day ever. I loved it.
Bunheads:
SF: The best. I wouldn’t have traded — it was perfect.
Violet:
SF: It was just like a perfect experience. The people I worked with, from the show itself, the character — everything! It was very different from anything I’ve ever done.
Younger:
SF: I don’t even know how to sum it up yet. I feel like I’ve bought more facial products in the last five months than I’ve ever bought in my entire life. I can’t wait for people to see more if it.
