Show Brings Broadway Dance Star Back to Where He Began : Theater: Jamie Torcellini was a USIU student when he got his big break by auditioning for ‘A Chorus Line.’

When opportunity knocked for Jamie Torcellini, the former San Diego dancer almost didn’t answer.

“I was supposed to go to the ‘Chorus Line’ audition in 1979 (when the road company of that Broadway show performed in San Diego). But I had a virus or something at the time, and I decided not to go,” Torcellini recalled during a hurried lunch break last week, while preparing for his performance in Starlight’s “Me and My Girl,” opening at the San Diego Civic Theatre on Thursday.

Fortunately, the 19-year-old dancer changed his mind and went after all, along with dozens of other local hopefuls. And the audition played like a scene out of “A Chorus Line.” Torcellini’s talent stood out, despite the sniffles, and he was hired for a key role in the show.

“I was only a sophomore at USIU (United States International University) at the time,” Torcellini said, “but I just picked up and left. I guess that makes me a college dropout, but I hope to return to school--sometime.”

That career goal may stay on hold for quite a while. Torcellini’s meteoric career as a Broadway dancer has kept him in the limelight.

“I’ve been working all the time. I’ve just been lucky that all my shows were long-running hits--and that I was chosen to go to each company,” Torcellini said, referring to the various road show productions. “I would get a week off every six months.”

“Cats” was among the shows that kept Torcellini, 30, on his toes for more than a decade. He appeared in the original Broadway production, then went on to star in the first, long-running Los Angeles staging. His stellar performance as Mr. Mistoffeles (the nimble cat with the show-stopping entrance from high above the stage) was a hit at every performance, and earned Torcellini the distinguished Drama-Logue Award in Los Angeles.

Recently, Torcellini was standby to star Tony Roberts in “Jerome Robbins’ Broadway,” which just began an extended Los Angeles run last week.

“I did Tony’s role for a month (about 36 performances). They even offered me the part for the rest of the New York run because Tony was leaving. I was already committed and turned it down. Unfortunately, Jerome Robbins never saw me in it. He was just too busy at the time.”

Broadway’s loss is San Diego’s gain. Torcellini will return to the San Diego stage at 8 p.m. Thursday. This production, scheduled for 15 performances at the Civic Theatre, will mark Torcellini’s first appearance with a local troupe since he was whisked away from his home town in 1979.

“I did a lot of Starlight shows while I was in high school,” he said. “And I was doing a Starlight show, ‘Shenandoah,’ when I got the ‘Chorus Line’ part. I’m really excited about being back. It’s been 11 years.”

During those fruitful years, touring engagements with national companies brought Torcellini back to San Diego twice. He understudied for David Cassidy in the title role of “Little Johnny Jones,” and even performed in the road show of “Me and My Girl” when Tim Curry played the lead.

“I played a hunchback,” he noted, with a laugh. “One of Richard III’s ancestors.”

One of Torcellini’s biggest incentives for returning to the Starlight fold was the opportunity to work with his old mentors.

“Don and Bonnie Ward were my teachers,” he said, referring to Starlight’s co-directors and the director-choreographer team for this production. “I worked with them at Junior Theater and performed many roles in their shows.

“Bonnie taught me tap dance at USIU, and I learned a lot from Don when I was part of his ‘Up With People-style’ tap dance show,” he said. “It was called ‘The Bright Side,’ and we did Vegas and a lot of places. I really learned a lot from them.”

Playing Bill Snibson (the crass Cockney who discovers he’s a long-lost member of royalty) should be a natural for Torcellini. He starred in a recent production of “Me and My Girl” at the Westport Country Playhouse in Connecticut.

“I just did it a few weeks ago,” he said. “The production was very similar to the Broadway tour, with a few liberties, but Don is rechoreographing it. He has offered to improve it and give me more dancing. I would prefer to really show my wares here, and I love doing Don’s choreography.”

Torcellini will work alongside another Junior Theater-trained performer in this show--Starlight veteran Beverly Ward. Beverly is the daughter-in-law of Don and Bonnie Ward.

What’s on tap after the final curtain falls on “Me and My Girl”?

“I don’t know,” he answered. “This is the first time I haven’t known what I was going to do next month since I got into ‘Chorus Line.’ It’s my first real break in a long time. I’m just looking forward to taking things slow for a while.”