Sutton Foster

Broadway superstar Sutton Foster kicked off Thomasville Entertainment Foundation’s 82nd season with a powerful cabaret performance before a packed house Thursday evening.

For 90 minutes, the triple threat performer showed off the talent and personality that have earned her two Tony Awards (and four additional Tony nominations) as she joyfully worked through a varied song list of Broadway showstoppers, standards from the Great American Songbook and pop favorites, with a few newer little ditties sprinkled in for good measure.

There always lurks the danger of disappointment when expectations are strong — a highly sought after star, an unusually early complete sellout, ticket holders who had driven three-plus hours — but any worries were quickly laid to rest from the first number accompanied by TEF’s historic Steinway. 

Switching quickly from dynamic to wistful, from playful to vulnerable, before roaring back and filling the hall with her soaring vocals, the Georgia native made easy work of songs by Cole Porter, Carole King, Frank Loesser, Stephen Sondheim, Jason Robert Brown, Shaina Taub, Hoagy Carmichael and more. 

Well… she made it look easy. But Foster has spent her impressive stage and concert career proving she has the chops and the know-how to do more than just sing a song. She coaxes, interprets and tweaks, giving each note, each glance and each inflection just the right touch and turning even a seemingly simple ballad into a moving work of art. 

Equally impressive was the artistry of pianist Michael Rafter, a noted Broadway music director and conductor whose glorious arrangements and long concert collaboration with Foster resulted in a smooth, seamless cabaret performance one might expect in New York’s cafes and night clubs. 

But this one was in south Georgia, in the intimate and acoustically special auditorium of the Thomasville Center for the Arts, and the audience adored it. 

In addition to enthusiastic applause, ovations and cheers throughout the performance, Impromptu reviews from thrilled concertgoers after the show included “a spectacular evening,” “a home run,” “a treat” and “a wow!”

“Bravo,” exclaimed a longtime patron. “What a talent,” said another. 

“How did TEF get Sutton Foster to Thomasville,” asked a more recent season subscriber. “This town just got so much better!”

Thomasville Entertainment Foundation’s 2019-20 season turns to classical music in its next concert, as the venerable Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio performs an evening of Beethoven piano trios October 22.