Sutton Foster charmed an appreciative audience on Saturday night at The Soraya in Northridge, California, with a nearly two-hour performance filled with show tunes and classics, backed by the Pacific Jazz Orchestra — with a surprise appearance by her romantic partner, Hugh Jackman.
Foster kicked off the show by introducing a few folks, including her music director and collaborator, Michael Rafter, who was on piano during the night, and Pacific Jazz Orchestra conductor Chris Walden. She then noted the importance and value of live shows: “We are all live humans, and this is a live orchestra, and you are a live audience. And we are so lucky that we get to gather and celebrate live music,” she said, to applause from the audience.
The Tony winner sang several Cole Porter songs, including “I Get a Kick Out of You” and “Blow, Gabriel, Blow” from Anything Goes and “Don’t Look at Me That Way” (“It’s quickly becoming one of my favorites,” she said of the latter). She also sang Porter’s “Miss Otis Regrets,” which she noted she’d performed a dance number to when she was young. Marc Shaiman arranged the version she sang, which was based on a Bette Midler rendition, and Foster revealed that Shaiman connected her with Midler, who gave her approval to use that arrangement, much to Foster’s delight.
Foster also shared stories of her 9-year-old daughter, Emily (“She’s my favorite person that I’ve ever met”), and segued into urging the audience to live in the moment before singing “Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries.” She also shared a funny description of her dad, who loves the Weather Channel and the Atlanta Braves, apparently tracks her flights and says humorous things to her, like: “You know, you can really tell when someone else does your hair and makeup.”
While Foster’s singing chops are nearly superhuman, she did have a moment that showed her more endearingly human side just before intermission. She ended the first “act” with “Anything Goes” from Anything Goes, noting that she knew “only one way to end an act one, and it’s with this song.” However, just a few bars into the song, she noted she had “this thing in my throat” and asked Walden and the musician to pause the music.
“I could feel it coming on, you know that thing when you get like a tickle in the back of your throat,” she told the audience, noting the moment was unplanned. “It feels super daunting to sing this song anyway, but not like this. … I’ve never had to do that, but I’m really glad I stopped. This is a lesson. It is OK to stop. I’ve got young performers here [in the audience]. You know what? it’s just a show.”
During the second half of the show, Foster performed a mash-up of “If I Were a Bell” from Guys and Dolls and “Singin’ in the Rain” from the musical of the same name as well as Duke Ellington’s “I Like the Sunrise,” among others.
But it was during “A Doodlin’ Song” that Jackman came out onstage, much to the delight of the crowd. After Foster sang the lyrics, “Why don’t you join the group? It’s better than being a party-poop,” Jackman then joined in, to loud applause. The couple, who have been dating for nearly two years, engaged in some fun onstage banter: “What are you doing?” she asked him. “You said you wanted me to join the group,” he replied. “No, you’re supposed to stay backstage? … Why do you have a microphone?” she asked him. “It’s 2026; everybody has a microphone,” he quipped.
After the song was over, Foster began, “So now that you’re onstage … ” to which he joked: “Yeah, do you want five or six numbers from me?” Jackman continued: “Well, I don’t know if a lot of people know this, but we sang this, and we’re gonna sing a song that we sang together many or a couple of times.”
Indeed, Jackman did stay to perform for another song — a complete surprise to the audience as it wasn’t listed in the program — with Foster. That song, “A Million Dreams,” from Jackman’s 2017 film The Greatest Showman, was something the couple workshopped together 12 years ago. “It took eight years for The Greatest Showman to be built, and I was a part of two of the workshops,” Foster said. “It was many years ago, so this is a song that we did sing together and we would love to sing it for you tonight.”
In a sweet moment, Jackman gave Foster a kiss before departing the stage. “I don’t know how we recover from that, so we’re just gonna end the show now,” Foster quipped of Jackman’s cameo. She thanked Jackman for coming out onstage with her “and singing and for getting my daughter Taco Bell today.”
Foster then sang “Meantime” before being given a standing ovation. She indulged the crowd in one last bonus tune: “Till There Was You,” from The Music Man. That musical, of course, had a revival on Broadway that debuted in 2022 and starred Foster and Jackman. The crowd happily obliged her request to sing along.
Foster’s performance kicked off The Soraya’s 2026-27 season, which marks its 16th season overall, and the first under new executive and artistic director Chad Hilligus. See the full schedule.