Meet the Nominees: Sutton Foster
NEW YORK -- Broadway is abuzz after nominations for the 75th Annual Tony Awards were announced.
The trophies will be handed out on June 12 on CBS2, and CBS2's Dave Carlin got the chance to interview some of the nominees in person at the annual "Meet the Nominees" event.
Two-time Tony winner Sutton Foster has earned a nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her portrayal of Marian Paroo in the revival of "The Music Man."
She stars alongside Hugh Jackman as Professor Harold Hill, and the cast includes a number of child actors.
"You guys really are the mom and dad of that company," Carlin said.
"Yeah, we kinda are," Foster said.
"You guys are almost like protective mama bears," Carlin said.
"We feel also like it's part of our job to create a really wonderful environment," Foster said. "Because I'm a mom now, too, I have a 5-year-old, so I have, like, my mom gene has been ignited, and he's a father, and so we are. We kind of, like, take care of everybody. We have little rituals that I do with, you know, before the library [scene], I have little rituals and little handshakes and little things that I do with each kid, and make sure make eye contact with every single person and check in with, you know, I give dating advice. It's ridiculous."
For nearly two dozen cast members, "The Music Man" is their first time on a Broadway stage.
"There's 21 debuts in the company, so we really want, especially the newbies and the little ones to know, like, that Broadway's awesome, you know? That Broadway can be amazing and safe and community and, like, it's all of us in it together, and it really is that," Foster said.
This is Foster's seventh time being nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical. She won on her first nomination in 2002 for "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and again in 2011 for the revival of "Anything Goes."
"You can pretty much choose among a lot of things now, and you chose this one. Why? Did you feel like you needed to be happy every night and do some dancing and... why 'The Music Man' and not something else?" Carlin asked.
"Being a mom, I was intrigued about being a part of something that was really joyful, and that the idea of being able to show my daughter a show that has kids in it as well is awesome because she's really interested in the fact that kids can be on Broadway, too. She's only 5, but," Foster said.
"Oh, you've done it now," Carlin said.
"I know, I've done it! I've done it," Foster said.
"The Music Man" is now running at the Winter Garden Theatre.