Today’s TV Addict Top 5: Questions with BUNHEADS Star Sutton Foster

In anticipation of what we’ll thankfully be calling tonight’s summer finale of BUNHEADS, theTVaddict.com thought now might be as good as any to share our brief one-on-one with star Sutton Foster, who we recently had the pleasure of catching up with at this past July’s ABC All-Star Party during the Television Critics Association Press Tour in Hollywood.

As we head towards the end of the season is there anything you can tease about your character Michelle’s trajectory?
Sutton Foster: [Laughs] I can’t tell you anything! Well, except… what brought her to Paradise was this guy… he died! She’s there, now she’s like, “Okay, I’m going to stay here,” and I think she’s just starting to lift her head up. I think she’s had her head down for a while, sort of coping with everything and now she’s starting to lift her head up, be a little more at home, at ease, and while there’s definitely potential for love, her husband just died and it’s a little soon. So what she’s going to start to have is a little fun.

The curious thing about this ABC Family series is that so much of the focus has been on Michelle’s relationship with Kelly Bishop’s Fanny. To fit in more so with ABC Family’s younger demographic, will future episodes of BUNHEADS shift towards Michelle’s relationship with her students?
That’s where we’re heading now. Fanny has left her in charge of the dance studio, but the problem with Michelle is that she doesn’t want to be in charge. She doesn’t want to be an authority figure, she doesn’t want to be an adult, and she’s fighting it with every fibre of her being. Between these two generations I think she probably wants to be more of one of the girls than she wants to be like Fanny so it’s this constant struggle. But yeah, she’s going to be spending more time with the girls as the show progresses.

I know actors don’t like to pay that much attention to things they can’t control (ie. ratings), but what have you heard from the Network?
[Editor’s Note: This question was asked well before ABC Family picked up BUNHEADS for the rest of the season!] The only think I’ve heard is positive stuff. In my heart of hearts I feel like our story isn’t done and I hope that we’ll be around for a while.

Having built a name for yourself on Broadway, what surprised you most about your first television experience?
Maybe it’s because it’s Amy’s [Sherman-Palladino] world and her world is a little fantastical and theatrical, the transition has been easier than I expected. Just like New York, you work your ass off — not that I didn’t expect to work hard — it’s just very similar in that the idea is that you work hard, hope that you put good work out there. I guess the surprise for me is that it’s more similar than I expected.

And finally, one SMASH related question if I may. Have you seen the show and how true to life is it to the Broadway experience?
You know I haven’t watched SMASH. I’ve watched the first couple of episodes, I have a lot of friends on it and it’s actually on my iTunes to watch. I’m going to watch the first season before the second season comes out.

BUNHEADS Summer Finale airs Monday August 20th at 9PM on ABC Family (ABC Spark in Canada)