Hunter Foster

Last updated

Hunter Foster
Foster Egan.jpg
Hunter Foster (left) in 2006, with
John Treacy Egan of The Producers
Born (1969-06-25) June 25, 1969 (age 54)
Alma mater University of Michigan
Occupation(s)Musical theatre actor, singer, librettist, playwright, director
Spouse
(m. 1998)
Family Sutton Foster (sister)

Hunter Foster (born June 25, 1969) is an American musical theatre actor, singer, librettist, playwright and director.

Contents

Career

After touring in several shows and playing on Broadway, in 2001 he was cast in his breakthrough role of Bobby Strong in Urinetown , for which he received a Lucille Lortel Award and a nomination for an Outer Critics Circle Award. In 2003, Foster starred as Seymour in the Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors , for which he received his first Tony Award nomination. [1]

Foster appeared as Leo Bloom in The Producers on Broadway, Ensign Pulver in Mister Roberts at the Kennedy Center, and Ben in Modern Orthodox off-Broadway. He also starred as Molina in Kiss of the Spider Woman at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia. [2]

Foster's writing includes the libretto for an off-Broadway 2002 musical based on the motion picture Summer of '42 and writing an adaptation of the film Bonnie and Clyde with Urinetown co-star Rick Crom. [3] "Bonnie & Clyde: A Folktale" was workshopped in residency at the Academy for New Musical Theatre, through the ASCAP Foundation Irving Caesar Fund Fellowship, a Producer-Writer Initiative granted through the National Alliance for Musical Theatre. [4] Foster was one of the writers for Rosie O'Donnell's 2008 NBC series Rosie Live , which was cancelled after the first episode.

Foster played the role of music producer Sam Phillips in the musical Million Dollar Quartet on Broadway at the Nederlander Theatre, which opened on April 11, 2010. [5] Foster then portrayed Richard Hoover in the musical Little Miss Sunshine at the La Jolla Playhouse until March 27, 2011. He appeared on the ABC Family show Bunheads as Scotty Sims, the brother of main character Michelle, who is portrayed by his real-life sister Sutton Foster. He originated the role of Bud in the musical The Bridges of Madison County in 2014. [6]

He has directed plays and musicals at the Bucks County Playhouse as well as at regional theaters. He directed Company in 2015 and Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story in June 2016 at Bucks County Playhouse. [7]

Personal life

Foster is the older brother of actress Sutton Foster. He is married to actress and occasional co-star Jennifer Cody; they have lived in Teaneck, New Jersey. [8]

Stage credits

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
1992 Cats Rum Tum TuggerUS National Tour [9]
1994 Grease Roger; Danny u/sBroadway [10]
1997 King David Ensemble; Jonathan u/s; Absalom u/sBroadway [11]
Children of Eden Abel/HamRegional [12]
1998 Les Misérables Joly; Marius u/sBroadway [11]
Footloose Bickle; Ren u/sBroadway [10]
1999 Martin Guerre VictorBroadway [13]
2001 Urinetown Bobby Strong (original)Off-Broadway [14]
Broadway
2002 Earth Girls Are Easy MacOff-Broadway [15]
2003 Little Shop of Horrors SeymourBroadway [16]
2004–2006 The Producers Leo BloomBroadway & US Tour [17]
2005 Mister Roberts Ensign PulverRegional [18]
Modern OrthodoxBenOff-Broadway [19]
2007 The Producers Leo BloomBroadway [20]
Frankenstein – A New Musical Victor FrankensteinOff-Broadway [21]
2008 Kiss of the Spider Woman Luis Alberto MolinaRegional [2]
DustZekeOff-Broadway [22]
2009HappinessStanleyOff-Broadway [23]
Into the Woods The BakerRegional [24]
2010 Million Dollar Quartet Sam PhillipsBroadway [5]
Ordinary Days Jason (original)Off-Broadway [25]
2011BurningPerformerOff-Broadway [26]
2012 Hands on a Hardbody Benny Perkins (original)Regional [27]
Broadway [28]
2014 The Bridges of Madison County Bud (original)Broadway [6]
2015 Spamalot King ArthurRegional [29]
2016 The Music Man Harold HillRegional [30]

Awards and nominations

YearAward ceremonyCategoryShowResult
2002 Lucille Lortel Awards Outstanding Lead Actor Urinetown Nominated
Outer Critics Circle Awards Outstanding Actor in a MusicalNominated
2004Outer Critics Circle AwardsOutstanding Actor in a Musical Little Shop of Horrors Nominated
Tony Awards Best Actor in a Musical Nominated
Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Actor in a Musical Nominated
2009Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical HappinessNominated

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carolee Carmello</span> American actress

Carolee Carmello is an American actress best known for her performances in Broadway musicals and for playing the role of Maple LaMarsh on the television series Remember WENN (1996–1998). She is a three-time Tony Award nominee and a five-time Drama Desk nominee, winning the 1999 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical for her role in Parade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Laura Thompson</span> American actor-singer (born 1969)

Jennifer Laura Thompson is an American actress and singer, best known for her theatrical performances. She originated the role of Cynthia Murphy in the Tony Award-winning musical, Dear Evan Hansen, and received a Tony Award nomination for her performance as Hope Cladwell in Urinetown. She is also known for being the first replacement for Kristen Chenoweth as Glinda in Wicked on Broadway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephanie J. Block</span> American actress and singer (born 1972)

Stephanie Janette Block is an American actress and singer, best known for her work on the Broadway stage.

Celia Keenan-Bolger is an American actress and singer. She is known for portraying Scout Finch in the play To Kill a Mockingbird (2018), which earned her a Tony Award. She has also won three Drama Desk Awards and an Outer Critics Circle Award.

<i>Little Shop of Horrors</i> (musical) 1982 horror comedy rock musical by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman

Little Shop of Horrors is a horror comedy rock musical with music by Alan Menken and lyrics and a book by Howard Ashman. The story follows a hapless florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood and flesh. The musical is loosely based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film The Little Shop of Horrors. The music, composed by Menken in the style of early 1960s rock and roll, doo-wop and early Motown, includes several well-known tunes, including the title song, "Skid Row (Downtown)", "Somewhere That's Green", and "Suddenly, Seymour".

Kathleen Marshall is an American director, choreographer, and creative consultant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nancy Opel</span>

Nancy Carol Opel is an American singer and actress, known primarily for her work on Broadway. She was nominated for the 2002 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for originating the role of Penelope Pennywise in the musical Urinetown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brad Oscar</span> American actor

Brad Oscar is an American musical theatre actor, known for his Broadway performances in musicals such as The Producers, Something Rotten!, Big Fish, Spamalot, The Addams Family, and Mrs. Doubtfire.

<i>Hands on a Hardbody: The Documentary</i> 1997 American film

Hands on a Hardbody: The Documentary is a 1997 film directed by S. R. Bindler documenting an endurance competition that took place in Longview, Texas. The yearly competition pits twenty-four contestants against each other to see who can keep their hand on a pickup truck for the longest amount of time. Whoever endures the longest without leaning on the truck or squatting wins the truck. Five-minute breaks are issued every hour, and fifteen-minute breaks every six hours.

Amanda Green is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. In 2021, she was elected president of the Dramatists Guild of America, the first woman to hold the role in the Guild's 100-year history.

The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatres and Producers by special arrangement with the Lucille Lortel Foundation, with additional support from the Theatre Development Fund.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erin Davie</span> American actress and singer

Erin Davie is an American actress and singer, best known for her performance as the young Edith Bouvier Beale in the musical Grey Gardens, taking the part on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre in 2006, after its initial run Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons.

John Rando is an American stage director who won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for Urinetown the Musical in 2002. He received his 2nd nomination in the same category in 2015 for the 2014 Broadway revival of On the Town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Cody</span> American dancer and actress

Jennifer Cody is an American actress and dancer.

<i>Million Dollar Quartet</i> (musical) Jukebox musical

Million Dollar Quartet is a jukebox musical with a book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux. It dramatizes the Million Dollar Quartet recording session of December 4, 1956, among early rock and roll/country stars who recorded at Sun Studio in Memphis, which are Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins, and newcomer Jerry Lee Lewis. The musical opened on Broadway in 2010, after several tryouts and regional productions, and spawned a 2011 West End production.

<i>Baby Its You!</i> Jukebox musical

Baby It's You! is a jukebox musical written by Floyd Mutrux and Colin Escott, featuring pop and rock hits of the 1960s, with a special emphasis on songs by the Shirelles and other acts signed to Scepter Records. The show "tells the story of Florence Greenberg and Scepter Records, the label Greenberg started when she signed the Shirelles." After several tryouts and premieres, the show debuted on Broadway in April 2011, directed by Sheldon Epps.

<i>Hands on a Hardbody</i> (musical) 2012 musical by Doug Wright

Hands on a Hardbody is a musical based on S.R. Bindler's 1997 documentary film Hands on a Hardbody. The book is by Doug Wright, music by Trey Anastasio and Amanda Green, lyrics by Amanda Green. The documentary was adapted into a musical commissioned by La Jolla Playhouse, La Jolla, California.

Rob McClure is an American actor and singer, best known for his work on the Broadway stage.

Michele Ragusa is an American actress and singer currently residing in New Jersey. She is best known for her work in Broadway musicals and her solo performances and staged concerts with Symphony Orchestras around the United States. She also played a recurring role on the television comedy Happyish.

<i>Yeast Nation</i> 2007 musical by Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis

Yeast Nation (The Triumph of Life) is a musical that premiered in 2007, with music by Mark Hollmann, lyrics by Hollmann and Greg Kotis, and book by Kotis. It serves as the first part of a musical trilogy, with the middle installment being Hollmann and Kotis' previous Tony Award-winning musical Urinetown and the final installment being Welcome to Space.

References

  1. "Little Shop of Horrors Tony Awards Info". BroadwayWorld.
  2. 1 2 Jones, Kenneth (January 9, 2008). "Dressing Them Up: Hunter Foster Will Be Molina in DC Spider Woman". Playbill. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  3. Simonson, Robert (July 2, 2008). "PLAYBILL.COM'S BRIEF ENCOUNTER With Hunter Foster". Playbill. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  4. "New Musical News". anmt.org. April 2008. Archived from the original on April 10, 2008.
  5. 1 2 Gans, Andrew (January 21, 2010). "Foster and Stanley Will Join Original Chicago Quartet for Broadway's Million Dollar Quartet". Playbill. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  6. 1 2 Hetrick, Adam (March 3, 2014). "Cast of Jason Robert Brown's The Bridges of Madison County Heads to the Recording Studio March 3". Playbill.
  7. "John Dewey to Lead Bucks County Playhouse's Hunter Foster-Helmed BUDDY: THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY". BroadwayWorld. June 8, 2016.
  8. Wong, Wayman. "The Leading Men: Hunter Green", Playbill , September 2, 2003. Accessed February 8, 2024. "Foster is married to Jennifer Cody (Urinetown, Taboo); the cute couple live in Teaneck, N.J., with Zach, their Yorkshire terrier."
  9. "Jennifer Cody & Hunter Foster". Broadway.com. February 9, 2006. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  10. 1 2 "Hunter Foster". Playbill. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  11. 1 2 "Hunter Foster Theatre Credits". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  12. Daniels, Robert L. (November 29, 1997). "Review: Children of Eden". Variety. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  13. Phillips, Michael (February 25, 2000). "'Martin,' Is That You?". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 25, 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  14. Jones, Kenneth (March 14, 2003). "Hunter Foster Sticks With Urinetown Til March 20; Pollock Joins March 21". Playbill. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  15. "Deven May, Hunter Foster Join Earth Girls Are Easy Reading Sept. 30". Playbill. August 16, 2002. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  16. Gans, Andrew (February 7, 2003). "Casting for Broadway Little Shop Confirmed: Hunter Foster and Alice Ripley Head Company". Playbill. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  17. Jones, Kenneth (July 5, 2005). "Together Again, Tony Nominees Foster and Oscar Are The Producers on Broadway July 5". Playbill. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  18. Gans, Andrew (March 12, 2005). "Mister Roberts Begins Limited Engagement at Kennedy Center March 12". Playbill. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  19. Simonson, Robert (April 12, 2005). "Hunter Foster and Sarah Chalke Join Modern Orthodox April 12". Playbill. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  20. "The Producers: Hunter Foster to reprise his role as 'Leo Bloom'". New York Theatre Guide. January 23, 2007. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  21. Jones, Kenneth (August 17, 2007). "The Doctor Is In! Hunter Foster Will Manage a Fresh Shop of Horrors in Frankenstein". Playbill. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  22. Saltz, Rachel (December 8, 2008). "Across a Class Divide, a Grudge Match Easily Festers Into Violence". The New York Times. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  23. "Hunter Foster Completes the Cast of Lincoln Center Theater's Happiness". Broadway.com. January 13, 2009. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  24. PHOTO CALL: Into The Woods, with Leavel and Foster, Rehearses at Pittsburgh CLO
  25. Jones, Kenneth (August 19, 2009). "Hunter Foster Is One of Four in NYC Premiere of Musical Ordinary Days". Playbill. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  26. Hetrick, Adam (November 14, 2011). "Burning, Starring Hunter Foster and Stephen Tyrone Williams, Opens Off-Broadway Nov. 14". Playbill. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  27. Stevens, Rob (May 14, 2012). "Review: Hands on a Hardbody". TheaterMania. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  28. Ng, David (October 3, 2012). "'Hands on a Hardbody' sets March opening on Broadway". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 5, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  29. Peterson, Tyler (July 28, 2015). "Broadway Couple Hunter Foster & Jennifer Cody Will Lead SPAMALOT at Geva Theatre Center". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  30. Music Man Muny