Megan Hilty Discussion

[George]

She's best known for her roles on Broadway (Tony nominee for “Noises Off”) and TV (NBC’s “Smash”). She released her debut album “It Happens All the Time” in 2013, and has since released a live album as well as various collaborations.

[George]

'Smash' star Hilty delivers unexpected CD debut
By MICHAEL CIDONI LENNOX | Associated Press – 2 hrs 0 mins ago....



....LOS ANGELES (AP) — Last week, singer-actress Megan Hilty wrapped her second, and possibly final, season of the TV musical "Smash."

But no time for curtain calls — a day later she made her Carnegie Hall headlining debut to a sold-out house. She spent this week racing around New York, getting the word out of her first solo album, "It Happens All the Time," which was released Tuesday.

"It's been a whirlwind," Hilty said, with a sigh, speaking by phone from what she said was only quiet spot she could find: the lobby of Marriott Marquis hotel.

The Broadway veteran doesn't ease on down the well-worn Broadway-diva CD-debut road, usually leading to a set of classic standards.

"While I love those albums," Hilty said, "I wanted to do something unexpected."

"It Happens All the Time" began as an album comprised of covers of songs previously recorded by other artists. "But then Columbia started sending original songs along, and things started to evolve." The result is a collection of wide-ranging genres: modern soul, '70s pop, contemporary alternative.

Talk about marketing nightmares. "I probably am," Hilty said, laughing. "I don't know what to call it either."

And yet the record is thematically consistent.

"I guess it is a breakup album, but not a cry-your-eyes-out kind of album," Hilty said. "That's why we went with 'It Happens All the Time' as the title. People fall in and out of love all the time."

The 31-year-old Hilty said she is in a relationship, though she wouldn't reveal details about her personal life, except to add that she lives in New York and is the proud parent of two Jack Russell terriers.

It wasn't any easier getting Hilty to spill spoilers about "Smash," NBC's both revered or reviled saga of the rocky road for a Broadway-bound musical. More than one TV-ratings analyst has dubbed the show "Crash" as some weeks of the series' second-season viewership have marked new all-time lows.

"The feeling on the set, from day one, was to work as hard as we can, and enjoy each other," Hilty said. "You can't control any of the rest of it. It's just like life."

When last we left her character, actress Ivy Lynn, she was doing a musical version of "Dangerous Liaisons," and her competition for the lead in the Marilyn Monroe musical, "Bombshell," Karen Walker (Katharine McPhee), was heading to Broadway.

"I can tell you this one thing," Hilty said. "Ivy's fate with 'Bombshell' comes all the way down to opening night."

[George]

Megan Hilty Performs Two Songs from 'It Happens All The Time': Video
By Brad Wete | March 12, 2013 6:25 PM EDT



The multifaceted artist releases her debut solo album today and performs two of its gems for Billboard.

Megan Hilty’s a woman of many talents. She’s one of the leads on NBC’s musical drama series “Smash,” playing Ivy Lynn. She’s starred on Broadway a few times. And today, she releases her debut album, "It Happens All The Time.”

The “It” Hilty’s referring to apparently is breakups. It's overall theme of the album and two songs she recently performed in studio for Billboard focus on the feelings felt during a split.

At first Megan intended to make an album of covers, featuring her favorite songs from movies, but she started receiving originals and, “The more we tried,” Hilty recalls, “the more they made sense.”

The result’s a 10-song set of fragile cuts. “No Cure” is a somber cut about there being no remedy for a broken heart. On “Be a Man” she begrudgingly wishes an ex well on his new relationship. Watch her perform both below.





A couple of Aimee Mann and Damien Rice covers made the album, released through Sony Masterworks' new contemporary adult imprint, Portrait. But there are several newbies written by the likes of Ne-Yo and Carrie Underwood as well.

Megan looked at this album as a challenge. “Learning how to record pop music instead of things that are more theatrical” was tough, she says. Hilty had to “stretch and see if this is something that I could do.” Looks like she can mark this off as a mission accomplished.

[sbp17]

I just listened to No Cure. Quite nice. A pleasant surprise. I knew she could sing well but I didn't know how her vocal style would translate over to poppier music but I like No Cure.

[vsw]

Love her!

[toomuchboy]

Can anyone say which songs are covers (or if they all are)?

[Deleted]

I listened to this album last night on Spotify, and actually enjoyed it. I'm quite hooked on "No Cure".

[stunnedout]

I love her on Smash. I'll give this a listen.

[George]

Debuted at the #96 on the Billboard 200 (with an estimated 5k sold) and dropped to #174 in its second week.

[johnm1120]

"No Cure" debuted at #29 on AC this week.

[George]

BWW Interviews: Megan Hilty Talks Austin Concerts, CD, Smash, & More
Wednesday, June 5, 2013; 02:06 PM - by Erin Privratsky



Megan Hilty's professional career began on the stage - her Broadway debut was Glinda to Idina Menzel's Elphaba in Wicked - and has since transitioned to the small screen on NBC's musical drama Smash to her recently released solo album, It Happens All the Time (available in stores and on iTunes). She'll be returning to the stage at Austin's Zach Theatre on June 18 (shows at 7:00pm and 9:30pm), and she graciously took time to speak with BroadwayWorld to discuss her album, Smash, her upcoming concerts, and what's next for Megan Hilty.

You were in Austin relatively recently - what brought you to Texas?

I was! The producer of my album, It Happens All the Time, lives in Austin and so last summer I came down three or four times for an extended period of time and stayed in a hotel and would go work in the studio all day and go listen to music at night. Well, really, most importantly, I'd go to all the amazing restaurants there. I'm going to have to revisit all of them in the 48 hours that I'm there.

What spurred your decision to release a solo album?

It's something that I always wanted to do but didn't know what my voice was or what my sound would be. I always felt like I didn't have anything to say, so why make an album? And I never wanted to make just an album with all the musical theatre songs I knew - that wasn't appealing to me. We originally started out with a totally different concept - it was going to be all covers of top songs from soundtracks, and then Columbia started sending down all these originals for us to try out and so many of them worked out that we just we abandoned that original concept. It sort of turned into a break-up album, without us ever intending it to.

If someone had asked you 10 years ago where you thought you would be today, would it have been anything like your reality?

No! I would have told you the exact same thing that I would tell you now if you asked me what I'll be doing in 10 years: I want to be working, and that is it. I would have never imagined this, quite frankly, but I'm happy that I'm actually working.

How did starring on Smash change your life?

It changed everything! I dove into a medium that I had only dabbled in before. To be a series regular for two seasons taught me so much about what it takes to be on a TV schedule and work those kind of hours and just work in front of a camera in general. I spent years on a stage, so figuring out how to just modify it for a camera was great.

Will we ever get to see Bombshell in its entirety - a two-hour special, or perhaps even a limited engagement on Broadway?

It's definitely a possibility, but they would have to write it! Right now it's a bunch of amazing songs, but there's no book! Honestly I would love to meet the woman that could sing all those songs in a row, let alone eight shows per week. It would take a lot of work, but it's a great idea for a musical and it's great that people are excited to see something like that.

Definitely. After every episode, I'm left with the thought, "I want to see Bombshell."

Totally. That's one of the things I'm most proud of, about being part of this show. I was a part of something that got people really excited about live theatre. I'm always going to be grateful for that.

What's your next project?

I do voiceover stuff so I have some voiceover projects for cartoons. I just did an audio book for Revenge Wears Prada, the sequel to The Devil Wears Prada, which was a cool job. And concerts! I'm doing all these concerts. And I'm also doing Cole Porter's CAN-CAN [an invitation-only reading taking place in NYC in July] - we're doing a workshop. I guess they've reworked the script, so we're going to try it out for three weeks and see if anybody can do anything with it.

[George]

Mar 18, 2013 8:07:08 GMT -5 toomuchboy said:

Can anyone say which songs are covers (or if they all are)?

www.mjsbigblog.com/smashs-megan-hilty-visits-jimmy-fallon-teases-new-album-with-carrie-underwood-neyo-cowrite-video.htm

1. “It Happens All The Time” (original song)
2. “Be A Man” (original song)
3. “No Cure” (original song)
4. “Walk Away” (original song)
5. “Safe And Sound” (Civil Wars & Taylor Swift cover)
6. “Blower’s Daughter” (Damien Rice cover)
7. “Hopin” (original song)
8. “Wise Up” (Aimee Mann cover)
9. “The Heart Of The Matter” (Don Henley cover)
10. “Dare You To Move” (Switchfoot cover)
11. “It Will Rain” (Bruno Mars cover)
12. “Gravity” (Sara Bareilles cover)

[stunnedout]

that was great!!

[George]

'Smash' Reunion: Megan Hilty to Co-Star in 'Sean Saves the World'
11:42 AM PDT 6/13/2013 by Lesley Goldberg
6 39 0 0 0 Email Print Comments
She'll reunite with Sean Hayes, who had a multi-episode arc on the second season of NBC's Broadway drama.



Megan Hilty wasn't singing the blues for too long after NBC canceled Smash.

The Broadway star has found her follow-up gig, joining the cast of the network's freshman comedy Sean Saves the World, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

As first reported by TV Line, the casting reunites Hilty with star Sean Hayes -- who had a multi-episode arc on the second season of Smash. During his run on the Broadway drama, Hayes played Terry Falls, an insecure actor making his stage debut in a play where Hilty's Ivy co-starred.

Sean Saves the World centers on a guy figuring out how to parent his teenage daughter -- who just moved in with him -- while dealing with a temperamental new boss (Thomas Lennon) at work.

Hilty, who on Sunday at the Tony Awards sang about the pratfalls of being a Broadway actor on a canceled TV show, will replace Lindsay Sloane in the comedy and play Liz, Sean's (Hayes) best friend and colleague.

Sean Saves the World will join NBC's new Thursday comedy lineup and air at 9 p.m. in the fall. NBC canceled Smash -- which marked Hilty's first series regular role -- after two seasons in May.

The recasting marks the latest this season at NBC, with Jenna Elfman filling the role of Parker Posey in the network's freshman comedy from DJ Nash.

Hilty is repped by Gersh and Perennial Entertainment.

[stunnedout]

Im glad she has another role! I thouht she wouldve gone back to broadway though.

[esoteric76]

Jun 14, 2013 9:28:14 GMT -5 stunnedout said:

Im glad she has another role! I thouht she wouldve gone back to broadway though.

Oh hell no. She'll make more money doing a few episodes of Sean's show than she would doing months and months of a Broadway show (assuming she landed in a show that didn't close right away).

Crossing from theater to television is the dream! (that's why Neal Patrick Harris' spoof number at the Tony's was so brilliant). Once you've made it in television, you can go back to Broadway when you crave it and pick and choose your projects. Megan is going to keep doing tv until it's done with her. I wish her the best!

[George]

Megan Hilty shows comic chops on ‘Sean Saves the World’
An interview with Bellevue native Megan Hilty, who joins the cast of the NBC show “Sean Saves the World” after the network canceled “Smash.”

By Rob Owen
Special to The Seattle Times



BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — NBC’s “Smash” may not have lived up to its title in the ratings — the show was canceled in May after two low-rated seasons — but co-star Megan Hilty has already landed on another series.

The Bellevue native joins the cast of NBC’s sitcom “Sean Saves the World” (9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3) playing opposite former “Will & Grace” star Sean Hayes.

“I’m really excited to be doing a complete 180 from my last job,” Hilty said in a July news conference. “I can always go do concerts and sing other places. I don’t have to always be singing in every job that I do.”

Hilty was home in Seattle in early July to sing at the christening of the yacht Invictus. She’s also been singing with symphonies across the country and on PBS’ “A Capitol Fourth.”

Hilty got her start in musical theater, including a stint in the musical “Wicked,” and she credits the exposure from “Smash” for these other opportunities to sing, but she probably won’t be tuning up too often on “Sean Saves the World.”

“We haven’t broken a story like that where she does sing,” said “Sean Saves the World” executive producer Victor Fresco. “We have some dancing coming up, so singing might not be too far down the line.”

Hilty plays Liz, best friend to Hayes’ character, a gay single dad who’s trying to balance raising teenage daughter Ellie (Samantha Isler), his buttinski mother (Linda Lavin, “Alice”) and an odd, demanding boss (Thomas Lennon, “Reno 911!”) at work.

This week’s pilot episode doesn’t offer much background on Liz, but a future episode reveals she met Sean at his wedding to Ellie’s mom and that Liz told Sean he was gay, which apparently had little effect until years later.

Now Liz works with Sean, takes Ellie shopping for overly lacy bras and often butts heads with Sean’s mother.

“She’s kind of the go-between between his home life and work. She’s the person who connects the two,” Hilty explained. “She’s supposed to be like a really strange, motherly figure to Ellie and in competition with Linda Lavin’s character for that role in her life, but they’re both horribly inappropriate influences on her, so I don’t know who would be better to show her the ways of the world.”

Hayes guest-starred on the second season of “Smash,” and almost all of his scenes were with Hilty. She said that pairing didn’t lead directly to her new role — she auditioned with other actresses — but it didn’t hurt.

Hayes said he remembered Hilty from an audition for a 2007 pilot his company produced and although she didn’t get the part (and the show never aired), she made an impression.

“She came in and read, and I made her sing ‘Popular’ [from ‘Wicked’] in the voice of a chicken,” Hayes recalled. “I knew that she was hilarious. I don’t know that America knows that yet because ‘Smash’ was a drama. So I’m excited that America gets to see Megan be funny and hilarious and a way they’ve never seen her be before.”

[George]

Megan Hilty and Brian Gallagher Get Married, Send Out Email Wedding Announcement
by MARC MALKIN Mon., Nov. 4, 2013 12:04 PM PST

Forget the iconic weddings section of The New York Times.

Megan Hilty and Brian Gallagher announced they got married with...an email!

And only we have a copy of the adorable email, which the couple sent out on Saturday night just after the former Smash star and her actor beau said, "I do."

"WE DID IT!!!!!!" the email reads (they provided the all-caps and exclamation marks, not us). "We're hitched! We tied the knot! We took the plunge! We jumped the broom! We no longer live in sin! We like it, so we put a ring on it.

"Basically," it said, "We got married!"

The email, signed by "THE GALLAGHERS," also said, "At 7:30pm on 11/02, we held a very intimate ceremony at The Venetian in Las Vegas (we classy) with only our immediate family in attendance.
"We decided we couldn't wait to be Mr. and Mrs. Gallagher so we skipped the whole engagement thing. We're very sorry we didn't get to celebrate with you, but we'd like to."

Separate receptions are being planned for Seattle, Los Angeles and New York.

Hilty walked down the aisle in a Badgley Mischka gown and Gallagher wore a J Lindeberg suit, according to People magazine.

[George]

@meganhilty
Guys! @jimbrickman & I did a cover of Merry Christmas Darling and apparently it's in the top 20 for Xmas radio!
1:55 PM - 19 Nov 13

Also, she performed "Merry Christmas Darling" on the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade last week:

[George]

Saw her last night at the Moonlight Amphitheater and she's incredible! Such a bubbly performance (exactly what made her my favorite Glinda from "Wicked" ever) and her range is unbelievable (jazz, opera, Pop songs, Broadway). Her band is super fun, especially her husband Brian Gallagher, plus the pianist Matt Cusson who has such a smooth voice. If you ever get a chance to see them, you should jump at it!

Nice to see her tell hilarious (usually awkward) stories from her career in between songs, and I really do hope she gets more recognition further down the line.

Upcoming projects for her include a return to Broadway in "Noises Off," a concert show of "Annie Get Your Gun," a Rosemary Clooney themed show with the Cincinnati Symphony, two TV series ("Girlfriend's Guide to Divorce" and TV Land's "I Shudder"), plus a live album!

Also, she's on a couple songs on her hubby's debut album!

[Deleted]

Every time-- EVERY time-- I see this thread title I read it as Megyn Kelly and scream

[George]

She landed her first ever Tony Award nomination today! She's nominated for Best Featured Actress in a Play ("Noises Off"):







Also, the cover for her upcoming live album has been unveiled:

[George]

Tracklisting:

1. They Just Keep Moving the Line
2. Bye Bye Baby
3. The Best Is yet to Come
4. Someone to Watch over Me
5. Autumn Leaves / When October Goes
6. That's Life [feat. Matt Cusson]
7. Second Hand White Baby Grand
8. The Man That Got Away
9. Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend
10. Get Happy
11. Rainbow Connection (Bonus Track)



The album is available for download now!

www.cdbaby.com/cd/meganhilty

[George]

October 19th:

[George]

Early reviews:

www.tvinsider.com/819736/patsy-and-loretta-lifetime-review-matt-roush/

Megan Hilty (Smash) gives a wonderfully robust performance as the outspoken and driven Patsy, who's such the life of any party that it makes her premature demise even more tragic. She's a willing and wonderful mentor to the more naive, yet naturally gifted, Loretta, played by Jessie Mueller, who's less familiar to TV audiences but is versatile enough to have won a Tony Award channeling the voice and soul of another musical great, Carole King (in the musical Beautiful).

www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/michael-phillips/ct-mov-patsy-loretta-lifetime-tv-rev-1018-20191015-ktyhu6wsofenjldziv33dgesne-story.html

Sisterhood strong enough to last a Lifetime, the new TV movie “Patsy & Loretta” compresses 18 months of a tragically brief friendship between two country music legends into one pretty good biopic. But the performers lift it up to a higher level. Megan Hilty (who plays and sings Patsy Cline) and Chicago stage alum Jessie Mueller (who plays and sings Loretta Lynn) tell an inspiring parallel story: that of a couple of Broadway pros with the chops to finesse 90 minutes of dramatic shorthand.

Hilty more easily suggests the aura, swagger and vocal timbre of the real Cline than Mueller evokes the look, feel and sound of the coal miner’s daughter from Butcher Holler, Kentucky. Mueller’s edge is softer than the real Lynn’s. But there’s steel underneath the surface, always, and director Khouri nudges Hilty and Mueller toward realism whenever possible.

Plus:

[George]

If you wanted to see the Bombshell: Live in Concert special, they aired it last night on YouTube/Twitter:

ALSO, her PBS live special is available to stream online:

[George]

[George]

She’ll be returning to Broadway in 2024:

Also, her most recent holiday film Sweet Mountain Christmas is currently available to stream for free: