Two-time Tony Award winner Sutton FosterTony Award-winning actress Sutton Foster will perform at the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center on the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s campus Sunday, Sept. 28.
Known for her iconic performances in “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” “Anything Goes,” “Shrek the Musical” and “The Music Man,” Foster brings a rare blend of triple-threat brilliance in every role she inhabits. On television, Foster played the lead role in the ABC Family comedy-drama “Bunheads” and starred in the comedy-drama “Younger.” Whether lighting up a Broadway marquee or a screen, Foster delivers unforgettable performances that leave audiences inspired and uplifted.
Foster was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical seven times, winning in 2002 for her role as Millie Dillmount in “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” and in 2011 for her performance as Reno Sweeney in “Anything Goes.” She reprised the role in 2021 for a London production of “Anything Goes,” scoring a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Her other Broadway credits include “Grease,” “Little Women,” “The Drowsy Chaperone,” “Young Frankenstein,” “Violet,” “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” and “Once Upon a Mattress.”
The performance will be at 7 p.m. in the Alys Stephens Center’s Jemison Concert Hall. Tickets start at $59. Buy tickets, call the ASC Box Office at 205-975-2787, or visit AlysStephens.org.
Discounted tickets for UAB students, staff and faculty are available for most performances; supplies are limited. Visit the Alys Stephens Center Box Office at 1200 10th Ave. South, Birmingham.
Come early at 6:15 p.m. and see students from the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Theatre and ArtPlay’s A-Team perform in the lobby before the show. Arts Circle members can enjoy a pre-show reception in the Abroms Patrons Lounge one hour prior to performance.
Explore the Alys Stephens Center’s full upcoming 2025-2026 season and buy tickets at AlysStephens.org. More artists are being added to the schedule. Follow the Alys Stephens Center on Facebook and Instagram for updates and announcements.
Foster is a legendary Broadway musical theater performer, and it is simply an honor to host and have her perform on campus, says UAB’s Head of Musical Theatre Valerie Accetta, a professor in the Department of Theatre. Foster’s visit is a fantastic opportunity for theater students to see an actor like her in action.
“From her Tony Award-winning performances in ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’ and ‘Anything Goes’ to her most recent work in the revivals of ‘The Music Man’ and ‘Once Upon a Mattress,’ Sutton Foster performs with charisma, specificity and a raucous sense of humor,” Accetta said. “We are so fortunate to be able to witness her brilliance at the Alys Stephens Center.”
Accetta says she was recently teaching a workshop at a student recruitment event, and when she mentioned to a group of high school students that Foster was performing soon on UAB’s campus, “they lost their minds,” she said. “I think I may have recruited the next generation of musical theater students to UAB.”