You Can’t Keep Sutton Foster Down
Places, please for ELLE’s monthly column Showstoppers, where theater’s biggest stars reflect upon the moment in their careers where the famous phrase “the show must go on” became a little too real. When things don’t go according to plan onstage, here’s how the pros react—and what they take away from it.
This month, two-time Tony winner Sutton Foster, who currently stars as Princess Winnifred in Once Upon a Mattress, talks about the time she wiped out in Anything Goes and the moment her back gave out in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The Younger actress also shares how she balances Broadway and family, her love of New York City Center, and the role she’s currently dying to play.
I was in the West End revival of Anything Goes back in 2021, reprising my role of Reno Sweeney from the 2011 Broadway production. There’s a big tap number at the end of Act One, where we sing “Anything Goes.” It’s eight minutes long. I tap and sing the whole thing.
One Saturday night, in the middle of the routine, I wiped out. My feet flew out from under me, and I went down. I was center stage, spotlight on me, big number, sprawled out flat. The audience gasped. Robbie McMillan, one of our ensemble members, grabbed me and picked me back up. I remember in the moment going, “Okay, is anything broken? I think I’m all right.”
I walked across the stage, looked at the audience, and said “I’m good” with a thumbs up. The audience applauded. I think maybe 10 years ago I would have been more mortified, humiliated, or embarrassed, but everybody falls down, everybody messes up, everybody loses their footing. It’s all about the recovery. You get back up and you keep going.
[Earlier this year], my back went out during intermission of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. I’ve never had back issues or anything, and I was like, “I’m not right. Something’s not right.”
Mrs. Lovett, my character in Sweeney, is a very physical role. I walked off the stage after “By the Sea,” and I said to my dresser, “I’m in pain. Can you get me some Advil and can you let someone know that I’m not doing great?” He went to talk to the stage management team, and the understudy was ready to go on, because I was like, “I’m going down fast here. I can’t move.” I was having trouble.
One of the amazing things about Sweeney Todd is they had a physical therapist. She was there the whole show. That’s not always the case. Every time I exited the stage, she was working with me, helping me, trying to get me so that I could finish the show. Everybody on stage was so sweet. I remember my costar Joe Locke singing, “Not While I’m Around,” and at the end he’s supposed to give me this big hug. He was afraid to touch me, so he just leaned in. It was the sweetest thing. Then at the end, Jamie Jackson, who played the judge, is supposed to grab my skirt viciously. He barely touched me. It was amazing how everybody came together.
It was a literal show-must-go-on moment where, in any other circumstance, I would have not been able to continue. Yet, there were people all around me literally supporting me so I could continue. We’re human beings. That’s one of the beautiful things about live theater. You’re watching human beings in front of you live doing things. And so, when do you stop? When do you say, “Okay, I have to stop. I can’t keep going.”
I kept going, and I was okay, and I had people supporting me, so I could finish the show. I took the next day off. Audiences don’t know what’s going on backstage, behind the scenes. It’s one of the beautiful things I love about theater. There’s a lot of things that people don’t know about as they happen behind the scenes.
Talkback
On how she maintains drive and motivation to do eight shows a week:
“I really love it. I feel hungry for it. But you know what? The highs are so high and the lows can be really low. I was talking about this with a friend yesterday and I was saying, ‘It’s like drugs,’ although I don’t do drugs. You’re chasing this high, and there’s nothing else that gives it to you. I struggle with coming down after it. Then you get into the run. That keeps me going. I love the challenges of live theater. I love collaborating. Nothing does that like theater. In a world where we’re so attached to phones and screens, I love the aliveness of theater and that anything can happen. You get to have a shared experience every night, not only with the cast, but with the audience. It keeps me coming back. Yes, it’s hard, and probably after Once Upon a Mattress I’ll take a little break. Maybe.”
On taking care of herself in the physically demanding role of Princess Winnifred in Once Upon a Mattress:
“It’s definitely a different thing than anything I’ve ever done. She’s an extremely physical character. There’s a ton of physical comedic expression. I’m a pretty physical expression type of person, but she’s extreme. We have an amazing team, and I have a bit of a mindset where I’m like, ‘I’m good. I don’t need any help. I’ll be fine.’ But, I’m leaning into getting regular body work, and really just trying to stay very mindful of my sleep, my nutrition, and my exercise. I work with a trainer here in New York and her motto is, ‘You want to be stronger than your show.’ I don’t want the show to be the thing that I’m chasing after. I want to be stronger than my show.
On balancing a family life and a nighttime gig:
“It’s definitely hard. My daughter is 7 years old. A lot of my career, I was childless. My first experience [balancing a show and a family] has been recent. Our schedules are opposite. Even on the weekends, when she’s free, I’m working. It’s a challenge, but we figure it out. We FaceTime a lot from the theater, and she comes to visit me. I’m able to do pickups and drop-offs. The good thing about Mattress, which was different from Sweeney Todd, is that I’m hoping she’ll be able to spend more time at the theater. Sweeney Todd, she was like, ‘Everything’s covered in blood,’ but Mattress is such a family show. She came to opening night. She was so proud, and I could see her in the audience. She came back and her eyes were wide, like saucers, and she’s just amazed. I’m so excited that I get to share this part of myself with her, and that she can see her mom living her dream. That’s all I want for her. I want for her to be able to find something in her life that brings her that. I want to be there for her, and I also want to be an example of someone who’s living her dream.”
On having to entertain the audience for three minutes, on stage alone, with only 20 mattress stacked on top of one another to play with:
“On opening night, I had my 7-year-old daughter and my 77-year-old father there. They both loved the show. Every day, my dad’s like, ‘Have you choked on the grapes? Have you fallen off the bed?’ I’m like, ‘Dad, I’m okay. I’m not going to fall off the bed.’ He’s like, ‘You need a tether. They need to tether you to that bed.’ I was like, ‘Dad, first of all, I’m very aware of myself.’ He’s still a dad. He’s still afraid I’m going to fall off the bed, because when I was four years old, I fell off the bed.
“The mattress sequence is really fun. I think I say one line and there’s no music. It’s really fun to be able to tell a story just with your body, and it’s something that I’m constantly still working on and discovering. It is definitely choreographed, but there’s storytelling within it and freedom to keep exploring. Who knows what it’ll be in five months when we’re done, when we finish our run.”
On what New York City Center means to her:
“I think I’ve done four City Center shows, and I love going to see shows at City Center. They always honor the show. The fact that they put the orchestra on the stage and that they’re honoring the music, and you get to sit there and just be like, ‘Oh, my gosh.’ I just recently saw [the City Center Encores! production of] Titanic. I had seen it when it opened on Broadway, however many years ago. I loved it so much and loved the score so much. [Encores! is] like a little love letter to the shows. You just get to sit there as an audience member and revel in it. They do shows that are from 20 years ago, 60 years ago, whatever it is, shows that were hits, not hits, beloved, unknown. They get to reintroduce them to New York audiences. It’s such a special place.
“Once Upon a Mattress was 10 days of rehearsal and then a two week run. As an actor it’s really fun, because you throw yourself into it boldly and bravely. I was like, ‘[Go out] strong and [it will be okay to be] wrong.’ You just jump in with two feet. In New York City, where doing a Broadway show feels like a lot of pressure, there’s just something about City Center. There’s pressure, but because there’s not enough time [to think and get stressed], you just leap in. I have really loved working there and I absolutely love going to see stuff there.”
On a role she’s still dying to play:
“I always jump around to different things. Here’s what I’ll say. I’ve done a lot of revivals lately. I guess what I’d like to do next, and I’m going to manifest this shit right now, is I would like to do something original. Something that I’m always curious about is the left turn, the thing that is surprising, the thing that is different, the thing that’ll challenge me. Showing the world a different side of myself, but also challenging myself to dig deeper and to keep expanding as an artist. Universe, do with it what you will.”
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Sutton Foster currently stars as Princess Winnifred in Once Upon a Mattress at the Hudson Theatre. Tickets can be purchased here.
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