Hilton Head’s oldest theater just got revamped. What’s coming to the Coligny location?
For 52 years a small theater has sat tucked away in Hilton Head’s Coligny Plaza Shopping Center. Originally named The Island Theater, it’s where in the 1970s residents bought popcorn from behind chrome counters and met Bruce from “Jaws” for the first time.
But after a 25-year run, it closed its doors in late 1997. In 2001 it opened again as Coligny Theatre with the occasional play or musical performance. Now, for the first time in years, it will have a stable theater group with consistent shows: the Sea Glass Stage Company. The non-profit brings together locals like Lynne Hummell, 64, who has lived on Hilton Head for 40 years, and Gavin West, 19, who moved to the island six months ago because his father works at the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. Some have done theater on the island together for years, others are your local teacher, retiree or college student who met under stage lights a little over a month ago.
“I’ve never done this before, but I can learn,” assistant director Chris Hofter said. Hofter is a branch manager for a bank, and he has acted before, but never directed.
He’s part of the group’s crew of around ten who were handed the keys at the start of 2024. They have since built a large stage to prepare for the first show, “Tick, Tick... Boom!,” premiering Friday. Tickets for the 160-person theater are on sale for $35. The group plans to have at least four plays a year with no specific theme.
“We’re just getting started,” Hummell said, explaining that they’re searching for donors, sponsors and grants to help fund the theater.
The idea for the group started years before that when founder Mark Erickson moved to Hilton Head permanently in 2009. He said he’s done performances with most of the theater groups on Hilton Head, but always wanted to create his own. Hilton Head Island has a rich performing arts community with groups like Main Stage Community Theater and Lean Ensemble Theater. Unlike some of the theaters, Sea Glass Stage Company is mostly volunteers.
“This time it seems like everything just fell into place,” he said.
