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La Quinta graduate Tyler Hilton returns to his rootsWill perform in La Quinta benefit concerts
April 5 2006
yler Hilton, who went from a La Quinta High School Shakespeare star to one of People magazine's sexiest men alive in four years, will return to his alma mater next month to perform two concerts to benefit the theater that helped launch him.
Hilton, who recently played Elvis Presley in the Johnny Cash bio-pic "Walk the Line," will perform a solo show at 8 p.m. Friday, May 12 and 6 p.m. Saturday, May 13 in the 350-seat La Quinta High School theater.
La Quinta High theater instructor Britt Pannell said 40 VIP tickets sold out soon after the first concert was arranged last weekend.
Another 40 VIP tickets for the May 13 concert will go on sale Thursday for $30, including a pre-concert reception with Hilton.
Pannell said she hoped to raise $7,000 to $10,000 to support her theatrical productions.
"High school theater is definitely not a money-making proposition," Pannell said. "Our goal is to break even on our productions, but that rarely happens. Almost every production has to be supplemented, especially our spring musicals."
La Quinta High's next spring musical is "Fame" May 18-20.
Hilton, 22, starred in the La Quinta High School productions of "Grease" and "Little Shop of Horrors" under former theater instructor Sherry Wollenberg. He won the English Speaking Union's regional Shakespeare Competition in 2002.
He was signed to Madonna's Maverick Records that October. His 2004 debut CD, "Tracks of Tyler Hilton," featured two singles, "When It Comes" and "How Love Should Be," that broke into the Billboard top 100.
He was selected that year as one of five Breaker artists by America Online.
He also has a recurring role on "One Tree Hill," which earned him two slots on the "One Tree Hill" soundtrack and a 2005 tour with cast members.
People named him "next in line" as most eligible teen drama star, following "One Tree Hill" co-star Chad Michael Murray that year and Hilton beat out the Killers as Pop Star magazine's Rising Music Act of 2005. He proposed the La Quinta High benefit just last month.
