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Weird Broadway: Sutton Foster





Lately, when I run, I run with Sutton Foster. In my ears. Not physically present, but available through a cast recording. The song is the opening number from “Violet.”

This show is a bit muddy; it doesn’t totally make sense to me. In it, Sutton Foster is a woman with a badly damaged face. She sustained some kind of terrible blow in childhood. The plot of the story is: Sutton takes a journey. She is going to meet a faith healer, who will magically remove her disfigurations. (I think we’re in the early 1900s). Along the way, she meets two men, and there’s sort of a love triangle? I guess? And maybe she realizes she is a worthy person regardless of the facial scarring--or even BECAUSE OF the facial scarring? It has been a while since I’ve seen the show.

Extra-credit points to the writers for devising a bizarre scenario for a musical. No romantic comedy, this. There’s a mangled face, and there’s a faith healer. Someone--at some writer’s desk--was reaching for the brass ring.

I just want to record for posterity some thoughts on the opening song. For some little gay reader somewhere who is asking the same questions I’m asking. Sutton sits down next to a little old lady who can’t stop talking (over-acted, but in a wacky, semi-admirable way, by television’s Annie Golden). The point is to show how we’re all trapped in the prison of our own small-minded ruminations. Golden makes an obtuse remark about Foster’s facial scar, and she does it in a way I love: “My girls, of course, all scattered to the winds; they made such beautiful brides....Sorry, dear....” You can see Sutton struggling to remain kind--if you’re dealt a blow, you can opt to be either especially cruel or especially compassionate--and she says, with forced generosity, “I hope you have a nice visit.” Golden unspools her real story in the way that actual people talk. It’s a visit to see her son. And the son’s small children. But--really--it may not be a visit. It may be a permanent move. But: “I know you won’t think well of me for it....I am RIGHT TIRED of CHILDREN...” The anxiety builds and builds: “All those boys...dirty toys....His wife thinks I’m a dragon-fly, Lord....” So Sutton learns something. People are fixated on their own small worries. They are not really fixated on Sutton’s face.

The song stretches out and introduces a group of other minor characters with varied concerns. One is looking forward to some barbecue--and that’s all he sings about, throughout the song. “Greasy, messy barbecue. I’ll have me some pies!” Another wrestles with his agnosticism: “Too bad we don’t see eye to eye, Lord. We could pass the time of day.” The ghost of Sutton’s childhood self appears and fantasizes about having a head full of curls, “like Judy Holliday.” At least I think that’s what is happening. We are all on our own odd journeys, and we hope for the best: “Left my troubles all behind me, back there when I climbed on board. Jordan River’s where you’ll find me. It’s wide, but not too wide to ford. And as I’m going along, I carry, with me, promises that can’t go wrong. As I travel on my way.” Promises to oneself. It’s a stirring four-minute opener.

I continue to listen to this song, I guess, because of Sutton Foster’s special excellence. Part of her greatness is her pickiness in making choices. She actually hasn’t been back on Broadway since “Violet.” She performed on PBS last night, and I was reminded of the excitement of seeing her in “Anyone Can Whistle” (you can see a snippet through her Kennedy Center tribute to Barbara Cook), seeing her in “Anything Goes,” and seeing her on various TV shows, doing the big numbers from “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” The especially touching part of yesterday's performance was Jonathan Groff’s appearance; Groff, maybe seven years younger than Foster, clearly devoted his late adolescence to memorizing every facet of Foster’s “Millie” work. Foster spent her Lincoln Center concert last night urging people to be cock-eyed optimists. “Everybody says don’t. Well, I insist on miracles. I say don’t. Don’t be afraid.” It’s hard to believe that “Millie” was around twenty years ago. Sutton Foster reminds me of the importance Broadway has for many people--even people who don’t opt to perform onstage. We grow up with these idols--who come from far-flung places and make it in New York. The experience of watching is like trailing a distinguished athlete in the Olympics. It doesn’t really matter what the content of the performance is--what the particular talent is. It’s just great to see someone shine.

Anyway, if you missed Sutton last night, Google “Sutton plus Madison County” and “Sutton plus Gimme Gimme.” These were the highlights. And make a note: Every Friday, for a while, we’ll have Broadway stars on PBS. Next up: Leslie Odom...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYmjDSpGmtE

P.S. Though I realize now I didn't write about it at all, my favorite Foster performance is surely the concert version of "Chess." Now at least I know I know him well... That red dress!!

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