If you had to get actor John Stamos an opening night gift … what would you get him?

That's the problem actress Natalie Hill was wrestling with last week.

Hill, a graduate of Orem High School, just opened in the Broadway revival of "Bye Bye Birdie," which stars Stamos and Gina Gershon.

"It's shocking, if you think about it," she said over the phone while walking her dog through the city streets. "As much as the show is done, this is the first Broadway revival. But I think this is exactly the type of show that people want to see now."

And it's a show Hill is thrilled to be part of. "It's just a really great show."

Hill was just in Salt Lake City, starring as Ellen in Pioneer Theatre Company's production of "Miss Saigon."

"It was such a treat to be in Salt Lake for one thing," she said, "but I was really privileged to work at Pioneer. I could not believe the caliber of people, both locally and those they brought in."

Performing back in her home town, after years in the Big Apple and on tour, was "ten times more nerve-racking!" she said. "I mean my fourth-grade social studies teacher was there. I knew so many people, and it's always more intimidating when it's people you know."

After closing "Miss Saigon," Hill thought she'd hang out in Utah for a little while longer. "I didn't want to audition right away," she said, "but I got a call from my agent saying, 'You need to come in three days to audition for "Bye Bye Birdie' " — I had never seen it."

Hill, who was also in the Broadway revival of "Grease" thought that might be her good luck charm. "I hadn't seen 'Grease' either when I was cast. It seem the less I know about a show… ," she chuckled.

"I only had to do one audition for 'Birdie,' which is so rare," she said. "It was shocking audition process, and I'm so grateful I booked the job."

Hill's first show was "The Sound of Music" at Payson Community Theatre (later Provo Theatre Company), where she played Gretyl.

She added shows at the SCERA, Utah Valley State College and Orem High School.

"I actually did a summer program with Yale drama while in high school." With a brief stint at Brigham Young University, most of Hill's education was at New York University, "but I'd gotten all my training from people at BYU since I was little," she said. "Gail Lockwood is still my voice teacher — we do Skype (web cam) voice lessons."

"I had my Equity card (actors union) before I graduated," she said, and she was cast in national tours and also worked in regional theaters throughout the country.

"When I came to New York, it took seven years of paying my dues, building up my resume."