A Seal Beach native who became a Broadway headliner and a beloved member of the Disney family remembers her days in Mayberry by the Sea as she prepares for a major event at the Hollywood Bowl Aug. 4 and 5.
Susan Egan Hartmann grew up in Seal Beach and graduated from Los Al High School before heading off to the bright lights of Broadway.
In fact, she and her partner Adam J. Levy, another Orange County native, now operate their entertainment company in Nashville called “10th and Main,” which is the address of the Orange County School for the Arts. Egan and Levy were both in the first graduating class, she said.
Together, they have leveraged their successful showbiz careers into a production company that works with Disney and other partners to produce entertainment.
In a phone interview from Nashville, Egan said their show next week at the Hollywood Bowl celebrates 100 years of Walt Disney Animation and features clips from some of Disney’s most popular franchises matched with stars from the Disney stable perfectly suited to perform theme songs from the respective movie.
“We are celebrating 100 years with Disney Animation. You know, Walt started in 1923. I can’t believe that was 100 years ago and so it’s going to be a really exciting night that spans absolutely as much of this great music and animation which we’ll be playing behind us as we possibly can get in,” said Egan.
She said the show will begin with Disney’s first celebrated animated classic, “Snow White” and feature all of the great animated shows through “Encanto and everything that lies in between.”
“We’ve written the script and pulled it together with the help of the team at Disney concerts and Walt Disney Animation Studios,” said Egan. “In addition, we have pulled together some really great Broadway talent, some pals of ours and some Tony Award winners onto the docket as well.”
Egan, and her partner are both Disney stars, and they are producing the Disney “Animation Studios” Concert that will feature the other Disney alum including Adassa, James Monroe Iglehart, Shoba Narayan, Anneliese Van Der Pol and Syndee Winters singing classic songs to accompany the 100 years of animated movies.
“Walt Disney Animation Studios has shown us stories that have defined our humanity and inspired the world to wish upon a star. Journey through the most iconic song and film moments of the studio’s treasured legacy live in concert, from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to Fantasia to The Little Mermaid to Encanto,” she said.
In addition, Egan said their guest artists will join conductor Thomas Wilkins and the LA Phil for an unforgettable experience under the stars, complete with magical film clips on the big screen
After moving to New York, Egan headlined on Broadway as Thoroughly Modern Millie, won critical acclaim as ‘Sally Bowles’ in Cabaret, starred in Triumph of Love and State Fair, and received Tony Award® and Drama Desk® nominations for “Best Actress” as the original ‘Belle’ in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.
Regionally, Egan starred alongside Carol Burnett in Putting It Together and Tommy Tune in the national tour of Bye, Bye Birdie. Her film credits include 13 Going on 30, Gotta Kick It Up for Disney Channel, and many award-winning independent films. Susan has voiced leading characters in the animated features Hercules (Meg), Spirited Away (Lin), Porco Rosso (Gina), Lady and the Tramp II (Angel), has guest starred on The Simpsons, Disney Channel’s Amphibia and spent six seasons on Cartoon Network’s Steven Universe (Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond).
On television, Egan spent two seasons on the WB’s Nikki, recurred on Drew Carey and Almost Perfect, and has guest-starred on Modern Family, House, Numb3rs, NYPD Blue, the Disney+ series Encore and more.
As a vocal performer, Susan has headlined with more than 60 symphony orchestras worldwide, including return engagements at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and the Hollywood Bowl, and has over 40 recording credits including seven solo albums. Susan is an executive producer of Disney Princess – The Concert, and with partner Adam J. Levy, is helping produce this evening’s production for Disney Concerts and the LA Philharmonic.
Egan said she fondly remembers her days in Seal Beach and Los Alamitos.
“I graduated from Los Al,” said Egan, “which was then the home of the Orange County School for the Arts.
She grew up in College Park East and remembers “riding my bike down to pier and buying candy at Grandma’s…ahhh, the 80s,” she said.
Egan (now Hartmann), attended Pine Middle School (before it was McAuliffe) and was among the first cast members for the Los Al Players (which became the Orange County School for the Arts). “We did ‘Annie’ and Hello Dolly,’” she remembers, long before she went on to become a headliner on Broadway in New York.
Today, she lives in Nashville where she is also an accomplished master teacher in music performance, obsessive gardener, happy wife, and mom to two daughters, who ask her repeatedly to stop singing.
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