If you love musical theatre then you would definitely be well acquainted with Megan Hilty. Throughout her career she has played some massive roles on Broadway in shows like Wicked, 9 to 5: The Musical, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Annie Get Your Gun. She was then introduced to a broader audience through her acclaimed role as Ivy Lynn on the short lived but well loved TV show Smash.
Returning to Brisbane three years after her sold out show at the QPAC, she decided to mix things up by playing with a 40-piece orchestra. In collaboration with the Camerata; Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra, Hilty played some of her favourite musical theatre numbers from her past roles whilst offering a very comedic and entertaining commentary along the way.
With the 40-piece orchestra taking their place on stage, a voiceover welcomed the arrival Megan Hilty which had the crowd cheering in excitement as she walked out in a stunning and very glittery dress. Opening with the cinematic ‘Moving The Line’ from Smash she belted out her powerhouse vocals effortlessly. Welcoming the excited crowd to the show she confessed that the evening’s performance was mostly comprised of musical theatre numbers and if you for some reason weren’t a musical theatre fan then the night was going to be very long. In saying that she added a little jazz standard of ‘Come Rain Or Come Shine’ for good measure.
Her little quirks and quips kept the audience laughing and smiling in-between the big moments and as she went down memory lane with them. One of the first stops was her memorable time in Wicked. ‘Popular’ was a quirky favourite from her portrayal of Glinda The Good Witch but she candidly talked about her time with Idina Mendzel before playing ‘For Good’.
Diving in deeper to her career and favourite personal moments she delivered rousing renditions of ‘Almost Like Being In Love’, ‘Someone To Watch’, ‘Get Happy’ and a moody cover of ‘Heart Of Me Matter’. Complimenting her hilarious in-between song banter, she performed the comedic ‘Altos Lament’ which showcased her personality before getting back to the classic musical theatre numbers.
Following a medley of Annie Get Your Gun songs, she reminisced about her time on Smash with ‘Second Hand White baby Grand’. Confessing to the crowd that she wasn’t a massive fan of encores, also that she felt a little lazy to walk all the way off stage in her heels, she confessed that the last song wasn’t actually the last song. She asked the crowd to cheer loud as she started to walk off stage after ‘Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend’ and she would stop and play two more numbers. They agreed, and as she tried to walk off stage the crowd stood up and cheered loud which saw her promptly turning around and launching into ‘Don’t Forget About Me’.
Closing the show with a song dedicated to her daughter, she explained how in her pregnancy she would always close the show with ‘Rainbow Connection’ as a dedication to her. And she wanted to keep that tradition going and close this very entertaining show on a personal note.
Megan Hilty is a world class performer who not only entertained the ecstatic Brisbane crowd but also surprised a lot of people with her raw and impressive talent.