Hunter Foster

Hunter Foster (born June 25, 1969) is an American musical theatre actor, singer, librettist, playwright and director.

Career After touring in several shows and playing on Broadway, in 2001 he was cast in his breakthrough role of Bobby Strong in Urinetown, for which he received a Lucille Lortel Award and a nomination for an Outer Critics Circle Award. In 2003, Foster starred as Seymour in the Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors, for which he received his first Tony Award nomination.

Foster appeared as Leo Bloom in The Producers on Broadway, Ensign Pulver in Mister Roberts at the Kennedy Center, and Ben in Modern Orthodox off-Broadway. He also starred as Molina in Kiss of the Spider Woman at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia.

Foster's writing includes the libretto for an off-Broadway 2002 musical based on the motion picture Summer of '42 and writing an adaptation of the film Bonnie and Clyde with Urinetown co-star Rick Crom. "Bonnie & Clyde: A Folktale" was workshopped in residency at the Academy for New Musical Theatre, through the ASCAP Foundation Irving Caesar Fund Fellowship, a Producer-Writer Initiative granted through the National Alliance for Musical Theatre. Foster was one of the writers for Rosie O'Donnell's 2008 NBC series Rosie Live, which was cancelled after the first episode.

Foster played the role of music producer Sam Phillips in the musical Million Dollar Quartet on Broadway at the Nederlander Theatre, which opened on April 11, 2010. Foster then portrayed Richard Hoover in the musical Little Miss Sunshine at the La Jolla Playhouse until March 27, 2011. He appeared on the ABC Family show Bunheads as Scotty Sims, the brother of main character Michelle, who is portrayed by his real-life sister Sutton Foster. He originated the role of Bud in the musical The Bridges of Madison County in 2014.

He has directed plays and musicals at the Bucks County Playhouse as well as at regional theaters. He directed Company in 2015 and Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story in June 2016 at Bucks County Playhouse.

Personal life Foster is the older brother of actress Sutton Foster. He is married to actress and occasional co-star Jennifer Cody; they have lived in Teaneck, New Jersey.

Stage credits YearTitleRoleNotes 1992 Cats Rum Tum Tugger US National Tour 1994 Grease Roger; Danny u/s; Kenickie u/s; Teen Angel u/s Broadway 1997 King David Ensemble; Jonathan u/s; Absalom u/s Broadway Children of Eden Abel/Ham Regional 1998 Les Misérables Joly; Marius u/s Broadway 2001 Urinetown Bobby Strong (original) Off-Broadway Broadway 2002 Earth Girls Are Easy Mac Off-Broadway 2003 Little Shop of Horrors Seymour Broadway 2004–2006 The Producers Leo Bloom Broadway & US Tour 2005 Mister Roberts Ensign Pulver Regional Modern Orthodox Ben Off-Broadway 2007 The Producers Leo Bloom Broadway Frankenstein – A New Musical Victor Frankenstein Off-Broadway 2008 Kiss of the Spider Woman Luis Alberto Molina Regional 2009 Happiness Stanley Off-Broadway Into the Woods The Baker Regional 2010 Million Dollar Quartet Sam Phillips Broadway 2011 Burning Performer Off-Broadway 2012 Hands on a HardbodyBenny Perkins (original) Regional Broadway 2014 The Bridges of Madison County Bud (original) Broadway 2016 The Music Man Harold Hill Regional

Awards and nominations YearAward ceremonyCategoryShowResult 2002 Lucille Lortel Awards Outstanding Lead Actor Urinetown Outer Critics Circle Awards Outstanding Actor in a Musical 2004 Outer Critics Circle Awards Outstanding Actor in a Musical Little Shop of Horrors Tony Awards Best Actor in a Musical Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Actor in a Musical 2009 Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical Happiness