Bring Me to Light – Sutton Foster

The lyrics to the theme song from the Mary Tyler Moore Show could probably have been written about Broadway star Sutton Foster:

“Who can turn the world on with her smile?
Who can take a nothing day
And suddenly make it all seem worthwhile?”

Foster’s joyful personality and abundant talent will be on full display when New York City Center begins streaming Bring Me to Light on Wednesday, April 28th at 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT. The show will remain available for streaming on demand through May 31st.

Bring Me to Light will celebrate City Center and look forward to our collective return to that wonderful shared experience of sitting in a theater together.

Foster is a two-time Tony Award winner for her performances in Thoroughly Modern Millie and the 2011 revival of the Cole Porter musical Anything Goes. She is scheduled to appear in a revival of The Music Man with Hugh Jackman next year. (That show is undergoing some upheaval with the recent revelations about producer Scott Rudin that forced him to step away from the production.)

She appeared in New York City Center’s Encores! productions of The Wild Party (the Andrew Lippa version) and Anyone Can Whistle.

Joining Foster for this show are other alumni from City Center’s Encores! series:

Raúl Esparza, who hasn’t appeared in a Broadway show since 2012’s Leap of Faith and appeared in the 2019 Encores! production of Road Show; Joaquina Kalukango, seen on Broadway in The Color Purple and who also appeared in The Wild Party at Encores!; Tony Award-winner Kelli O’Hara who appeared in the 2015 revival of The King and I and Wren Rivera, a trans performer and one of Foster’s students at Ball University, will all be joining.

Bring Me to Light is directed by Leigh Silverman who directed Foster in the New York City Center Encores! production of the musical Violet that transferred to Broadway. Jeanine Tesori, composer of Thoroughly Modern Millie and Violet (and one of my favorite musicals Caroline, or Change), serves as the Creative Producer for the show.

Michael Rafter, who was Music Director for Violet and Thoroughly Modern Millie (and who happens to be Tesori’s husband), plays piano and serves as MD for this show. He is joined by guitarist Matt Hinkley (who played guitars in the orchestra for Violet).

Here’s some additional trivia for you: Bring Me to Light is also the name of a song from Violet.

What can you expect from this hour-long show? Songs from the musicals Anyone Can Whistle, Camelot, Oklahoma!, South Pacific, Violet and The Wild Party.

Tickets are $35 and allow for unlimited streaming through May 31st. Deluxe packages, priced at $135 and above, are available that include bonus content including behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the show.

After the turbulence of the pandemic, Bring Me to Light is going to make it clear to us that we’re gonna make it after all.

Photo: Sutton Foster in Bring Me to Light (Photo by Christopher Duggan/Courtesy New York City Center)

Lyrics to Love Is All Around by Sonny Curtis.