The Odyssey of Hunter Foster

 He's played Leo Bloom in The Producers, Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors (Tony nomination). But for most die-hard theater fans, Hunter Foster will always be remembered for playing Bobby Strong in Urinetown (Outer Critics nomination). I will never forget his performance in that Tony nominated musical. So how does this Broadway veteran end up in the Signature Theatre's incredible production of Kiss of the Spider Woman (which ends its successful run April 20)? 

Charles Shubow – Hunter I was so excited when I heard you were going to joining the cast of Kiss of the Spider Woman. How did you get involved in theater?

HF- We didn't know anything about Broadway but my Mom suggested it.  I was playing baseball but she thought I should try an acting class taught at a recreation center while we were in Athens, GA. It was soon thereafter I auditioned for You're a Good Man Charlie Brown and got the role of Linus and I thought this is fun. I really enjoyed it.  At a community theater, I next got a role in Godspell. I had so much fun I wondered how come I hadn't been doing this for years. I really still didn't know much about Broadway.  I then did Joseph, Grease and in high school, Bye Bye Birdie.

CS – How did you end up at the University of Michigan?

HF – Well, my father moved to Detroit and I found myself getting paid to do this. I put off college for a while. Then a friend suggested the musical theater program at the University of Michigan.

CS– How did you get to New York?

HF – Well, I decided to give New York a try. I was there for six months and then I attended an open audition for Les Miserables. That was my first Broadway show. I then auditioned for the national tour of Cats and played Rum Tug Tugger. Cats was very memorable because I met my wife Jennifer Cody who was playing Rumpleteaser.  The show was hard for everyone. People were getting hurt all the time. But we knew this was something big. In certain cities, people would just go nuts about it. It was a lot of fun. 

CS – I have always wanted to ask you how did you get involved in Urinetown?

HF – A friend from college had talked to me about it. It first sounded like a joke. My agent then suggested I audition for it. I didn't participate in the workshop. The actor who played Bobby Strong was unable to continue, so I auditioned and got it. You never know when you read a script how it will turn out but either way, I thought it was worth the risk... For the first reading, John Collum was not involved yet. One thing I did know, I liked the music. I never thought it would work. But at the first preview, I KNEW it was going to be a hit. People were stunned.  Of course it helped when John Cullum got on board. It brought up respect.  That was the clincher. After the New York Times review, the 140 seats were hot tickets. People were lined up on 54^th Street.

CS – Did you ever think the show would transfer to Broadway?

HF – I never thought it would. But the producers found a perfect theater where they decided to board up the theater and even paid homeless people to hang around outside. We had a tough beginning. We were scheduled to open on Thursday, September 14, 2001. But 9-ll  stopped that. They postponed the opening for a week. It was tough performing on Broadway. We really did not become a hit until we performed on the Tony Awards.

CS – I attended the Tony Awards in 2002. The song "Let Freedom Run" brought down the house. What was it like to have your show up against the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie which starred your sister, Sutton?

HF – Of course I was rooting for Sutton to win the Tony for Best Actress. But Urinetown deserved to win, it was something special and different. Without Urinetown, I don't believe Avenue Q winning the Tony would ever happen.

CS – I noticed you did the national tour of Martin Guerre. I saw this terrific musical in London and loved it. Why didn't it make it to Broadway?

HF- This was very disappointing and a frustrating experience. It was supposed to make it to Broadway. Maybe someday.

CS – I saw Summer of '42 at the Round House Theatre in Bethesda and really enjoyed it. How did you happen to write the book of the show?

HF – I always loved to write and hoped to write novels and always wanted to write a show as a kid. I was always looking for material. I loved the film. I thought the score by Michel Legrand could be expanded. Music played such a large part of the film. Luckily it happened. It also suffered from 9/11.We opened in December of 2001. I was running back and forth between Urinetown and Off-Broadway where Summer of '42 was. I'm happy there's a nice CD. It's been getting down around the country and has been successful everywhere it plays. I really enjoyed seeing it at the Round House.  Hopefully, New York is still in the future.

CS – How was the Signature able to get you for Kiss of the Spider Woman?

HF – Well I just love the show. I saw Brent Carver play Molina in the original Broadway cast.  I had seen on line an item about the Kander & Ebb Celebration at the Signature and called my agent I wanted to get involved. I knew both Nastascia Diaz (the Spiderwoman) and Will Chase (Valentin). I'm so please I was able to join them.

CS – Did you know much about Signature?

HF – I have worked with Eric Schaefer before and knew this was a great facility. It's a versatile, intimate space. The intimacy of the audience makes it so great.

CS – I know Eric prefers not to use microphones. Tell me about the sound situation.

HF – The band was just overpowering us. The orchestrations are so complex. At first, just the three leads were miked and later on the entire cast also had them. Having mikes allows the actor to be more naturalistic, it frees you to do things you couldn't do without them. They allow you to turn upstage and still be heard.

CS – Watching you and Will perform as Molina and Valentin…you work so well together. What was the rehearsal process like?

HF – Well, Will is amazing. We were both willing to jump in with no insecurities…to do whatever it takes. We kind of clicked on that level. We were not going to apologize or pretend we're having issues. We are very comfortable…very intimate…we just went for it. He made me feel very comfortable. Eric allowed us the freedom. He was open and free. He allowed us to be confident.

CS – How would you sum up your experience at the Signature?

HF – I love it. It seems like the theater is on a movie set. Everything is clean and new and there are so many great restaurants. I'd love to come back. Plus, the audiences seem so emotionally involved.

CS – Any chance there could be a future with this production? Glory Days started at the Signature and is now headed to Broadway.

HF – We all would like to do it again. It would be great to continue doing it. But I know how the business works.

Kiss of the Spider Woman continues until Sunday, April 20. Don't miss it. For tickets visit www.signature-theatre.org or call 703-820-9771.For comments, send an email to cgshubow@broadwayworld.com

Photos Courtesy of Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.

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