She claims to be similarly underindulgent when it comes to fashion, describing herself as a T-shirt-and-jeans kind of girl. “I get so glam with sequins and makeup for Broadway, I tend to go the opposite way in my real life,” she says. Nevertheless, Foster is a two-time Tony-winning actress, so when she plays a part she doesn’t hold back. Stepping out of the van an hour later, she’s dressed in a scarlet asymmetric dress from Michael Kors’ fall collection. She lifts her foot off the stairs and, holding onto the door, playfully swings back and forth. Egged on by the photographer, she jumps down and twirls, hikes up her hem and shakes her hips.
New York has been Foster’s home for the past 15 years but now she’s moving to Los Angeles for a TV role. She acknowledges it’s a bit of a gamble. “In a way, I’m starting at the beginning,” she says. “I’m not known in the TV field. I hope my theater fans will find me. I’ll be in their living rooms every week.” She’s starring in the new ABC Family series “Bunheads,” which premieres June 11 and is written and executive-produced by Amy Sherman Palladino, the creator of “Gilmore Girls.” Foster plays Michelle, a Las Vegas show girl with a stalled career who impulsively gets married and moves to her husband’s sleepy coastal town where she finds fulfilment teaching at her mother-in-law’s dance studio. “I’m a huge fan of ‘Gilmore Girls,’” Foster says. “Amy’s one of a kind. She really has a point of view. When they offered me the ‘Bunheads’ part, I cried. Whenever something’s overwhelming, I cry.”
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So you think you can dance? Sutton Foster will be the judge of that! The two-time Tony-winning Broadway baby stars in the new ABC Family series Bunheads — premiering June 11 — about a disgruntled Las Vegas showgirl who impulsively marries her biggest fan and ends up teaching ballet to teenagers in a snoozy California beach town.