Arts center says 'hooray' for local talent in new revue

It's fitting that a fundraiser for local arts education should feature two products of local arts education.

Hilton Head Island High School senior Clark Hummell and Hilton Head Preparatory School junior Caroline Santorum are two of the 12 stars of the new, original movie-musical revue, "Hooray for Hollywood," premiering at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina with a gala performance Feb. 27, followed by a week of shows Feb. 28 through March 7.

Money raised through the fundraiser will help support the nonprofit arts center's outreach and education departments. In the past two years alone, the department provided more than 30,000 education-related services to local students, while 4,000 students, parents and teachers were able to attend special field-trip performances at the arts center.

A veteran of Hilton Head Dance Theatre performances, Santorum was spotted in the audience of an arts center show by director and choreographer Casey Colgan, who returns for "Hooray" after directing "My Fair Lady" and "Les Miserables" in 2009.

"I remember sitting in the audience of a show that I directed, and she was sitting behind me," he said. "Someone said, 'That little girl is a dancer,' and I turned around and said, 'I'm having auditions for 'West Side Story' tomorrow, and you are going to be there.' Ever since then, whenever there is a spot, I make sure she is in the show. She has grown tremendously."

Colgan noticed Hummell in a Main Street Youth Theatre performance of "Guys & Dolls" and cast him immediately in "My Fair Lady." Now he is using him in "Hooray."

Colgan said the cast -- made up completely of arts center veterans -- has gelled in rehearsals, despite differences in age and experience.

"(Hummell) is 18 years old, and he is with seasoned Broadway veterans, and they are mixing along with ... Clark and 17-year-old Caroline," Colgan said. "Everyone is the same age in rehearsals."

Arts center president and CEO Kathleen Bateson said much of the success of the rehearsal process is thanks to Colgan, who has guided "Hooray for Hollywood," an original arts center production, from concept to stage.

"We always love having Casey back," Bateson said. "This show has his fingerprints all over it; producing a show is a collaborative process, but -- especially with an original production -- a lot of it starts with finding the right director and choreographer."

"Hooray" features a collection of Tinseltown's most memorable tunes, including "Puttin' on the Ritz," "As Time Goes By," "When You Wish Upon a Star," "Over the Rainbow," "Jailhouse Rock," "You're the One That I Want" and more contemporary songs such as "Can You Feel the Love Tonight."

The show will feature familiar characters and motifs plucked from several classic Hollywood movies.

James Bond makes an appearance in one scene, while another features Gene Kelly's famous "Singin' in the Rain" number.

"Putting the show together, it was important to have people that I personally have worked with here at the arts center and have cast in other shows," Colgan said. "Casting was key. As I was writing the show, I was putting faces on numbers immediately."

The cast includes an all-star list of performers, reuniting familiar faces -- and voices -- from the arts center's recent past. Lindsie VanWinkle ("My Fair Lady"), Shannon Lee Jones ("Mame"), Bill Bateman ("Damn Yankees"), Scott Evans ("The Producers"), Meegan Midkiff ("Les Miserables") and Jeffrey Watkins ("The Full Monty") lead a cast of 12.