An early look at Sutton Foster in ABC Family's 'Bunheads'

Sutton Foster at the Samueli Theater in Costa Mesa in 2011.

By David Ng

April 18, 2012 2:28 PM PT

Sutton Foster appears to be putting her Broadway experience to good, or at least remunerative, use in “Bunheads,” the new series on ABC Family that is set to premiere June 11. The network has released a first clip from the comedy-drama in which the Tony-winning actress not only demonstrates her dancing chops but also her experience enduring cattle-call auditions.

Foster, 37, left the current Broadway revival of “Anything Goes” to star in the TV series, in which she plays a former Vegas showgirl who gets hitched and moves to a coastal town where she finds a job working as a dance instructor for her mother-in-law.

“Bunheads” is from Amy Sherman-Palladino, whose “Gilmore Girls”ran from 2000 to 2007 on what is now the CW. The series will be Foster’s first major TV role, though she had a recurring part in HBO’s short-lived “The Flight of the Conchords.”

Foster is among the recent crop of Broadway actors to find berths in television this year. Others include Megan Hilty in NBC’s “Smash” and Stark Sands in CBS’ “NYC 22.”

Here’s the clip from “Bunheads” -- viewer discretion is advised for those who are sensitive to loquacious quirk and entertainment that the whole family can enjoy.