The Barbie Award for Working Hard For The Money: Miss Sutton Foster

I decided that In addition to Breaking Broadway News, Fun Facts, and Showtunes of the Day (which I plan to keep up with daily now that my life has calmed down) I'm going to start giving out my own version of the Tony Award, which I'll obviously call the Barbie Award. Unlike the Tony Awards which are given out one glorious day a year, the Barbie Award can be given to any performer or person involved with the theatre on any given day for any given reason.

So I'm going to give out my first award, The Barbie Award for Working Hard for the Money, to the busiest lady on the boards these days.

Ever since her Peggy Sawyer-esque moment of breaking out of the chorus to become the star in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Sutton Foster has become Broadway's Sweetheart. Since then she has played featured or leading roles in shows such as Little Women, The Drowsy Chaperone, Young Frankenstein and Shrek. She has also release a solo album entitled Wish.

She has been a busy gal since her jump into the spotlight in 2002, but nothing compares to this year. She is currently starring in the Off-Broadway play Trust at Second Stage and it was announced a few weeks ago that she will take on another starring role as Reno Sweeney in Roundabout Theatre Company's production of Anything Goes which lands on Broadway in Spring 2011. Throughout the fall and winter of this year and into 2011 Sutton will be performing across the country in her solo concert series. In addition, she recently performed in an Actor's Fund benefit show of They're Playing Our Song with Seth Rudetsky. And as if she is not busy enough, she is actually scheduled to perform in readings of two upcoming shows. The first is the new musical Bonnie & Clyde co-starring Will Swenson of Hair fame with a score by Rick Crom and a book by her very own brother, Hunter Foster. The second reading she plans to participate in is Nice Work If You Can Get It, a Gershwin review of sorts co-starring Matthew Broderick.

Well, I'm tired just writing all of that so I can only image how Miss Foster must feel! Get some Red Bull girl and keep that energy up...we would love to see some more Broadway hits in your future. And even though the Barbie Award is a huge honor, I'd love for you to win another Tony as well.