Sutton Foster on Trading Broadway for the Beach in New TV Series Bunheads

Two-time Tony winner Sutton Foster is headed to TV land this spring. The Anything Goes star will be departing the S.S. American and settling down in Paradise, California on the new ABC Family show Bunheads, reports Entertainment Weekly. In the new series, executive produced by Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino, Foster will play Michelle, a former ballet dancer-turned-showgirl, who moves from Las Vegas to California to work at her mother-in-law’s dance studio.

“The bonus is it’s set near the ocean,” Foster, who has not set a date for her final performance in Anything Goes, said of the TV show. “When we shot the pilot, we spent many days on the water, which I was like, ‘This is awesome!’” As she'll be playing a showgirl, will audiences see Foster’s fancy footwork on the small screen? “The show’s centered around dance. There’s one production number in the pilot, but I have no idea how it will parlay into the series.”

Even with a handful of Broadway shows and two Tonys under her belt, working with Sherman-Palladino makes Foster a bit starstruck. “My favorite show of all-time is Gilmore Girls,” Foster said. “Amy contacted my agents and wanted to take a meeting, and I kind of freaked out. I went like fan girl on her. We met for lunch and talked, and I was so thrilled,” the actress gushed. “The opportunity to get to work with her and to say her words—I couldn’t believe it. I still can’t believe it.”

Bunheads will air this spring, although a premiere date has not yet been set.