Two-time Tony Award winner to headline Starlight Theatre’s glittery 39th gala
.JPG "Sutton Foster speaks as Hearst Magazines hosts the 3rd Annual Women's Health Lab at The New York Historical on May 18, 2026 in New York City.")
Two-time Tony Award winner Sutton Foster will headline Starlight Theatre’s 39th annual gala in October, the theater announced Monday.
One of the most popular stars of Broadway musicals, Foster has also had crossover success on TV. From 2015 to 2021 she starred in the TV Land comedy-drama “Younger,” playing a 40-year-old divorced mom posing as a 20-something in the cutthroat New York publishing world.
“Gilmore Girls” fans know her for playing Violet in the miniseries, “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life,” in which she performed a musical in the summer episode.
Starlight president and CEO Lindsey Rood-Clifford — the first female CEO in the organization’s history — said the theater was thrilled to bring Foster to Kansas City.
“Sutton is one of those rare artists whose talent is matched by her warmth, generosity and deep love for this art form,” she said in a statement.
“We can’t imagine a better person to help us celebrate the power of live performance and the role Starlight plays in connecting this community.
“It will be a special night — and, even more importantly, one that helps make it possible for Starlight to serve audiences, students and artists across the Kansas City region for years to come.”
Foster won Best Actress in a Musical Tonys for playing the title role in “Thoroughly Modern Millie” (2002) and as nightclub singer and evangelist Reno Sweeney in “Anything Goes” (2011).
She’s also been Tony-nominated for roles in “Little Women,” “The Drowsy Chaperone,” “Shrek the Musical,” “Violet” and “The Music Man.”
Most recently she played Princess Winnifred in the Broadway revival of “Once Upon a Mattress” and Mrs. Lovett in “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”
She was nominated for a Critics’ Choice Television Award for her role in “Younger” and the short-lived ABC Family comedy-drama “Bunheads” by “Gilmore Girls” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” creator Amy Sherman-Palladino.
Foster is romantically linked to “Wolverine” and “The Greatest Showman” actor and Broadway star Hugh Jackman as of late.
The gala on Oct. 17 will begin with a red-carpet reception, followed by a dinner and program featuring a performance by Foster.
Proceeds benefit Starlight’s arts education programs, accessibility initiatives, scholarships and community outreach. Last year’s gala raised a record-breaking $837,125 for those efforts.
Starlight, which sits on 16 acres in Swope Park, is the largest and oldest continually operating performing arts organization in Kansas City.
More details about the October gala are at kcstarlight.com/gala.
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