This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:07] Al Malafronte: Hello and welcome to the Break a Bat Podcast where baseball meets Broadway, an attempt to show that my two favorite mediums don't have to live in such separate worlds and maybe even break some stigmas.

[0:19] Al Malafronte: We're happy to have you with us.

[0:21] Al Malafronte: Now let's play ball.

[0:26] Al Malafronte: Hello and welcome to Break a Bat where baseball meets Broadway. I'm your host, Al Malafronte, coming at you for the Broadway Podcast Network.

[0:34] Al Malafronte: Uh tonight is one of those shows where I think everyone listening at home will be able to tell just how pumped I am to welcome our very special hitter to the batter's box.

[0:42] Al Malafronte: And uh I always try to bring the same energy to every conversation that we have here, but every once in a while I'm fortunate enough to welcome a personal favorite from show business.

[0:51] Al Malafronte: And uh, you know, I've said many times in the show just how formative the mid-2000s were for me as far as developing my passion for theater and baseball in such a big way.

[1:00] Al Malafronte: And I've also talked about how there's only a handful of shows that I've had the privilege to see more than once. And uh one of those shows just happens to be Wicked.

[1:07] Al Malafronte: Um, second time I saw it, Drama Club Field Trip, Freshman Year High School. I remember the anticipation walking into the Gershwin, being on par with the playoff game at Yankee Stadium.

[1:17] Al Malafronte: And I had the privilege of witnessing tonight's special guest during the heart of her rookie year here on Broadway. Uh, she was taken on the role of Glinda and delivered a performance you'll never forget.

[1:26] Al Malafronte: Uh, you knew right away she was gonna be a star, and that was only the beginning for her, as she's since gone on to establish a career in show business that's as phenomenal as anyone's.

[1:35] Al Malafronte: Um after Wicked, she went on to star in 9 to 5, earned a Tony nomination for her performance in Noises Off, and of course her portrayal of Ivy Lynn in NBC's Smash made her a household name.

[1:45] Al Malafronte: Uh recently she starred in Lifetime's Patsy and Loretta, and throughout this pandemic, she's lent her talents to the voiceover world in Trollstopia.

[1:52] Al Malafronte: So as you can see, she's a player with a tremendous skill set that we're so grateful could join us tonight. So with that being said, if you'll please turn your attention to home plate.

[2:02] Al Malafronte: Just beyond the marquee, now batting Megan Hilty.

[2:06] Megan Hilty: Hey Al, how are you?

[2:10] Al Malafronte: I am hanging in there.

[2:12] Megan Hilty: How about you?

[2:13] Al Malafronte: The same.

[2:14] Megan Hilty: I think that's the best we can ask for right now, huh?

[2:18] Al Malafronte: Yeah, for sure. I mean, listen, I don't have two young kids like you do. How is the homeschooling going?

[2:23] Megan Hilty: Oh, it's insane. It's absolutely insane to think that it's almost been a year since my daughter's been in a classroom and that now I'm in charge of her education.

[2:35] Megan Hilty: Well, I'm not in charge. She has two amazing teachers. Uh, but you know, since it's distance learning, uh a lot of it falls in our laps.

[2:46] Megan Hilty: Me and my husband, uh, but we also have a three-year-old. So he we've kind of my husband's taken a three-year-old and I've taken our six-year-old.

[2:55] Megan Hilty: And I now have helped teach my daughter how to read and do basic math. Things that I never, first of all, I'm so not qualified for any of these things.

[3:06] Megan Hilty: Um, and I never ever dreamed I would be doing this in any capacity. So it's far beyond my imagination what's happening right now, and that it's been going on for so long.

[3:19] Al Malafronte: Let's hope there could be like a homeschool graduation ceremony at the end of this school year and you never have to deal with this again, right?

[3:25] Megan Hilty: Oh, absolutely. I'm gonna have one. I'm gonna start planning it now, actually.

[3:30] Al Malafronte: That's a cool idea. Well, I appreciate you being able to get away into the teacher's lounge for a bit because I have to tell you, this is such a cool one for me.

[3:40] Al Malafronte: And you know, I'm sure for a lot of folks in our audience as well, because you know, you may be the very first hitter I've had on Break a Bat who sung one of the definitive show tunes about the national pastime.

[3:51] Megan Hilty: About baseball, yeah.

[3:53] Al Malafronte: But was it about baseball?

[3:55] Megan Hilty: Yeah, I mean, yeah, yeah.

[3:57] Megan Hilty: Oh my gosh, that was my very first thing that I had to do for Smash. I showed up in New York. I was living in Los Angeles. I showed up in New York and I started rehearsing that.

[4:08] Megan Hilty: I am not a dancer, by the way. So I was terrified. And um, and I had to go, we rehearsed that for a good week, I think, maybe even more.

[4:19] Megan Hilty: Um, but we kept showing it to the producers and stuff like that. And it was, it was filthy. The original choreography, it was not for television.

[4:30] Megan Hilty: And so they had to keep like toning it down. And even what they ended up showing wasn't all of the choreography that was going on while we were filming.

[4:40] Megan Hilty: Yeah, that was wild.

[4:42] Al Malafronte: Are there any like tapes existing out there or like bonus footage of this where we could find the original?

[4:48] Megan Hilty: Oh, I don't know. You know what when it really hit me was this past, I think it was this past May when uh they aired footage of our one night only concert.

[5:00] Megan Hilty: And we did the actual choreography and sang it live. We did everything we did all of the musical numbers live.

[5:06] Megan Hilty: And um, and that was the first time when I really saw it all. And I told my parents, I was like, oh, but they were actually at the concert.

[5:19] Megan Hilty: So but like one of my kids' kindergarten teachers at the time was like, she was like, I was watching it with my kids. I had to like turn it to turn it off really quick because they kept saying, Mommy, what is she doing?

[5:32] Megan Hilty: No, I had no idea we were gonna watch that.

[5:35] Al Malafronte: Oh my God.

[5:36] Megan Hilty: Yeah. I mean, listen, the quarantine has brought, you know, all sorts of surprises. And I did get to watch that uh concert.

[5:44] Megan Hilty: And you know, with uh, you know, all this extra free time that we've had recently, I have to say one of the real highlights getting me through this, you know, baseball off season was getting to rewatch Smash.

[5:53] Al Malafronte: And uh listen, I'm I'm very sorry that it only lasted two seasons because I absolutely loved it back in the day.

[6:00] Al Malafronte: But I don't know if you've ever heard this before, but that final episode in the second season, it took me two hours to watch the finale. I'll tell you why, because I just couldn't make it past the first scene.

[6:11] Al Malafronte: I just kept rewinding and replaying "Under Pressure" because like for yeah.

[6:17] Al Malafronte: Like you talk about great TV musical moments, like nothing tops that one for me. And I was always curious, like, do you hear that a lot about "Under Pressure"? Or is like my obsession with that one sort of a first?

[6:28] Megan Hilty: Um, that is a first. That is a first. Um, but gosh, if I recall correctly, I think that was the last thing we filmed.

[6:37] Megan Hilty: Was it the last thing we filmed? It was close to one of the last things. I I mean that oh no, that I don't know what I'm talking about because that was the first, yeah.

[6:47] Megan Hilty: I'm thinking of a different song, the one that we all sang at the end of season two. Yeah, but uh, but that was a really it was a really great number, and I love that it utilized everybody.

[6:59] Megan Hilty: Um yeah, I thought it was really great. It was supposed to be something else. Um for a long time it was gonna be a different song. I can't remember what it was. Gosh, it's been so long.

[7:09] Megan Hilty: Um, but yeah, that's the first time answer. But nonetheless, though, I think it just still stands up today. And you know, you know, like you said, being able to encompass the whole cast like that, you know, listen, that cast was a who's who.

[7:24] Al Malafronte: I mean, and getting to hear Debra Messing and Davenport sing also, that was pretty awesome. I just wish I could have hit Jeremy Jordan's high notes. That's something I gotta try to get down with.

[7:31] Megan Hilty: You know what? His part in was it "Under Pressure"? No, it was it was in a different song. He sings this really high part, and I was originally supposed to sing it, and I was like, hey, maybe we should throw this one to Jeremy.

[7:44] Megan Hilty: Can we throw this one to Jeremy? He was like, I'll do it. No problem.

[7:49] Megan Hilty: No problem. Oh, it's it was just the best. And you know, I'm glad you liked it.

[7:56] Al Malafronte: Oh, yeah. It's just like, you know, listen, I and full disclosure, my audience knows this. I always loved Glee, but I could relate a lot more to Smash because you know, especially living here in the city in love and Broadway.

[8:06] Al Malafronte: It's not like I was a high school kid in Lima, Ohio watching Glee, you know, nonetheless you appreciate the arts, but like especially this time, you know, with theater shut down.

[8:15] Al Malafronte: Uh and listen, I know you guys did that uh that little reunion back in May, and Debra Messing talked about how you know maybe she'd be open to a reboot if it was filmed in New York and we're kind of like in reboot and reboot mania now in show business.

[8:30] Al Malafronte: Would you ever do it again?

[8:31] Megan Hilty: Um, I think so. It would have to be I it would have to be right. You know what I mean?

[8:39] Megan Hilty: Like I yeah, I I would love to listen. I miss that show like every day.

[8:50] Megan Hilty: It was my dream job. I got to play a really interesting character, I got to sing incredible songs, I got to pretend like I was a dancer.

[9:00] Megan Hilty: And I got to I got to work with the most amazing guest stars. They were all like Bernadette Peters was my mom. Like that's crazy.

[9:09] Megan Hilty: Um yeah, I I miss that show terribly. Um if we were to go back to it, I would just want it to be right. We can't just do it just because we miss it.

[9:20] Megan Hilty: But I I would love, I would love to, yeah.

[9:24] Al Malafronte: Yeah, it's a fine line. I mean it's like Arrested Development. They rebooted that one. And I loved the original, but I feel like the reboot didn't do it justice.

[9:32] Al Malafronte: And unfortunately, you get a lot of that too, but it's just it's so amazing what you've all gone on to accomplish since, obviously.

[9:38] Al Malafronte: But you know, when you look back on it now, you had taken on some big parts on Broadway before, obviously, but it had a tough audition process to get that part.

[9:46] Megan Hilty: Oh, it was terrifying. I um I was living in Los Angeles and um, and it was pilot season, and it it was the script seemed like it had fallen out of the heavens into my lap.

[9:59] Megan Hilty: You know, it's like this is crazy. This is a TV show about my world, like I know these people. And um, and uh but I was terrified because it said that Ivy Lynn was a triple threat.

[10:10] Megan Hilty: That means she's an excellent dancer, which I am not. And I'd had I've had so many dance calls go horribly wrong that um I was like, I these people are so fancy, I don't want to literally fall on my face in front of them.

[10:25] Megan Hilty: So maybe I'll just like wait and for a good guest starring role on this show. And my manager at the time was like, no, you should go, you should audition for it.

[10:35] Megan Hilty: So I went and um it it was it was crazy. I mean, I I don't know how to make a Cliffs Notes version of this because um pilot season for actors is really terrifying because like even when you think you have good news, it can fall apart in a second.

[10:53] Megan Hilty: And if you're testing for one show, you can't test for another one until the first one has released you, so you can miss out on everything.

[11:02] Megan Hilty: There was a lot of drama that went along uh with that audition process, but luckily um uh it worked in my favor, and I did not have to do the dancing call, which I was um really nervous about.

[11:19] Megan Hilty: But because I didn't do the dancing call, um, they didn't know what I could do or all of the stuff that I couldn't do.

[11:27] Megan Hilty: Um, so it it made it even more terrifying when I showed up, and the first thing I had to do was work on the baseball number.

[11:34] Al Malafronte: And now, did they make you watch uh, you know, a few Yankee games, you know, for the sake of research, or did you come in as a baseball fan already for that one?

[11:42] Megan Hilty: Um I I'm a I'm enough of a fan. I don't think I'm I'd I think it would it would be rude of me to call myself an actual fan.

[11:53] Megan Hilty: You know, I feel like a fan act like really lives for the sport. I do not I appreciate it. Um I've been to many a Yankee game um and had a great time.

[12:05] Megan Hilty: And uh so I was familiar, but I I I think it would be disingenuous of me to say that I was super fan.

[12:17] Al Malafronte: Oh, that's more than fine. You know, you personally it's you know what? Listen, you you're not unlike most of the our friends from Show Business that we bring on to Break a Bat in that sense.

[12:27] Al Malafronte: So uh no one's holding it against you. But what I really love about specifically going to like a Yankee game, I started going to Yankee games a lot when I lived in New York.

[12:37] Al Malafronte: And what I loved was hearing the backstories from all the players and where they've been before and all of the things they've gone through to get to where they are, and uh their strengths and weaknesses and you know uh struggles.

[12:51] Al Malafronte: I that I really loved, and I feel like that's such a huge part of the game. Um so so yeah, I guess I am kind of a fan.

[13:00] Megan Hilty: I think you are. We grant you fandom. Absolutely.

[13:04] Al Malafronte: And it's so cool how you mentioned that about the backstories because like when I go to the theater, one of the things I'd love to do is open up a playbill.

[13:10] Al Malafronte: And if I don't know a particular performer, you know, that's going on that night, I love to read their credits a little bit more about them.

[13:16] Al Malafronte: And it's a real personal experience in that way. You get to know them a little bit even before you you watch them, you know, perform on stage or at the stadium.

[13:23] Al Malafronte: So I can definitely relate to that.

[13:25] Megan Hilty: Yeah, there's definite parallels, absolutely.

[13:28] Al Malafronte: Yeah, that I always had that in mind when we started Break A Bat. So I'm glad that a pro like yourself sees it that way too.

[13:35] Megan Hilty: Thank you.

[13:37] Al Malafronte: And, you know, obviously you've been pretty busy during the quarantine. I mentioned your voiceover work earlier. How's everything going with Trollstopia?

[13:46] Megan Hilty: Oh, it's great. It's funny because in the animation world, things take so long to get finished. I've actually been working on all these shows for years. Just some of them happened to start airing during the pandemic, you know. I'm lucky enough to do Tots on Disney Two in Europe. I've been doing that for several years. Trolls Topia, I've been working on for a couple years too, which is adorable. They're all just adorable. I'm on Madagascar: A Little Wild. There's a whole bunch of... oh, there's another thing that's coming out, I think next fall, that's gonna be so great. But I'm so, so like to say that I'm grateful for my voiceover career is really understating it. It is like the one thing that I can still do during all of this.

It was always one of my favorite things to do. But now we've turned our closet in our bedroom into a recording studio, and I record everything at home. So I don't even have to go into a recording studio to do anything. We can do everything remotely, and we're still able to have some kind of income and keep our health insurance, which not many artists can say right now, you know, so I'm like eternally grateful that years and years, about 12 years ago, I decided to go into this part of the industry just because it was something that was important to me, and now it's important in a whole different way. But I love it. I love voiceover and animation because it's like one of the most creatively fulfilling things you can do.

First of all, like on Tots, I play a koala. I'd never be able to play a koala in real life. So I get to, you know, like on Trollstopia, I play like a centaur troll, which would never happen in real life. You know, these are all fantastical things, and I get to sing in pretty much all of them. So I'm constantly getting to learn new music, and I don't know, there's a lot, there's a lot of elements to voiceover and animation that I've just loved for years, and I'm so grateful for it.

[16:04] Al Malafronte: Now, you've talked in the past about how you had an opera background really before you got into the theater. Were you the type of kid though that was going around doing different impressions and trying out different voices for your family and your friends?

[16:18] Megan Hilty: I don't know that I was ever like trying out different voices or anything, but I was obsessed with opera and classical music in general. I grew up in Seattle, and my first voice teacher really pushed me into the direction of classical music. I started doing classical vocal competitions, and I did this, I call it opera camp, but people get mad at me for calling it that because it's an apprenticeship program with the San Francisco Opera for young women. It's very prestigious, but I call it opera camp because we went and stayed there for several weeks. It was just a very prestigious camp. I don't know, I'm still a super huge opera and classical music fan and hope secretly wish that one day I could do that, but it's kind of like being an Olympic athlete.

You can't just wake up and go do it or even do it in a couple of years. It's something you have to train for years and years and years and years and years of your life to do. So I understand and respect that at the same time.

[17:35] Al Malafronte: Yeah, absolutely. And I give you a lot of credit because, you know, one thing that makes your career so unique is that you've taken on so many different types of roles, and what's kind of interesting is, not that I'm a Trolls viewer, I just happen to do my research. You play a character named Holly Darlin. You've kind of found like a little bit of a niche, you know, kind of with like these country characters, and I'm wondering first and foremost if that name might have a little something to do with a friend of yours named Dolly Parton from your Nine to Five days. And like, you know, you talk about your background that's just so different from some of these roles that you've taken on. Is that tough for you to get into, or do you think you just kind of have like a knack for it?

[18:12] Megan Hilty: It's really bizarre. People just in life have always assumed that I'm from Texas for some reason. I don't know why. I don't know if maybe I speak in an accent that I just don't care. You know, I'm from Seattle, like that's not... I couldn't be further away. But it's great. I mean, I've certainly been cast as a lot of sassy southern women, and they're all fantastic. So I don't know. Yeah, between playing Doralee in Nine to Five and Patsy Cline and a lot of guest stars, I'm usually like this real... my bread and butter used to be like just being the annoying friend, and half the time it'd be a southern lady. But yeah, I don't know what that is, but I'll take it.

[19:15] Al Malafronte: Yeah, why not? And you know, you mentioned some of your past roles. We do a little segment here on Break A Bat, and if you hate it, you can just tell me. But it's called Seventh Inning Stretch, and what's cool about it is, you know, similar to the back of a baseball card, it's a chance, you know, for our audience to learn a little bit more about your past work. And it's also, you know, a chance for you to stay loose as a player, take some cuts in the cage, that way you can stay on your game for the later innings of the episode, and it's an opportunity for you to join what we call the winner's circle. Do you know what the winner's circle is?

[19:53] Megan Hilty: Uh, it sounds really good. It sounds like it's something I want to be a part of.

[19:58] Al Malafronte: Well, that sounds like the spirit that we need to play the game. It's a very exclusive group here on Break A Bat. It's for folks who do an outstanding job of answering some trivia questions, a few of which, you know, will honor your ties to the Broadway world and I don't know, maybe a few others centered around...

[20:18] Megan Hilty: I'm so not going to do well on this, but I will play.

[20:24] Al Malafronte: Well, there's a prize at stake. I'd love nothing more than to give it to you. And to tell you the truth, it's kind of a cool prize, so I really hope you can.

[20:34] Megan Hilty: Great.

[20:35] Al Malafronte: All right, let's do it, folks. Question one. I mentioned your ties to Dolly Parton a few minutes ago, and as many of you know, one of her biggest songs is a little number called "Jolene." And while it unfortunately wasn't featured in Nine to Five, it was in fact covered by another artist who's had their music featured in a Broadway musical. Is that artist? A) Carol King, B) Brian Wilson, C) Olivia Newton John, or D) Glenn Fry.

[21:09] Megan Hilty: Carol King.

[21:12] Al Malafronte: The answer is Olivia Newton John. She did her own cover of "Jolene" on the Come On Over album. Unfortunately, it didn't make its way onto Broadway and Xanadu. Deep cut.

[21:25] Megan Hilty: Wow. Deep cut, yeah.

[21:27] Al Malafronte: Okay. All right. Hey, I'm learning new things.

[21:31] Megan Hilty: I may not be in the winner's circle, but I'm learning new things.

[21:35] Al Malafronte: You might use all the time to get there. You have a couple more at that. Then I'll tell you the truth, I think a couple of these questions might be right up your alley. Mariners question. Because I know you're a Seattle girl.

[21:46] Megan Hilty: Okay.

[21:48] Al Malafronte: Which Japanese phenomenon former Seattle Mariner became just the second player in baseball history to win both the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player award in 2001? Is it A) Ichiro Suzuki, B) Hideki Matsui, C) Hiroki Kuroda, or D) Masahiro Tanaka.

[22:09] Megan Hilty: Oh, it's either... what are one and two again?

[22:12] Al Malafronte: Ichiro Suzuki or Hideki Matsui.

[22:16] Megan Hilty: Is it Ichiro?

[22:18] Al Malafronte: Ding ding ding. She's on the board, folks. She got her first hit of the game. You probably remembered him because he did have a brief stint with the Yankees, and he hit three...

[22:31] Megan Hilty: Yeah, I remember everybody chanting his name. That's why I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[22:36] Al Malafronte: Well, congratulations. You got your first hit. And you know, the golden rule of this game is if you get enough of them right, you win the prize. So let's see how you do on this one here. This could be interesting.

[22:50] Megan Hilty: Okay.

[22:51] Al Malafronte: For our Smash fans, a number of your former Smash castmates have sung the national anthem prior to various sporting events. I know you did it for the Seahawks. Who is the only one to do so before a Subway Series game? A Subway Series game is when the Mets and Yankees... you know your stuff. I should have made that one of the trivia questions. Was it A) Jeremy Jordan, B) Debra Messing, C) Leslie Odom Jr., or D) Christian Borle?

[23:26] Megan Hilty: It's either Leslie or Jeremy. And I'm going to say... let's say Leslie.

[23:38] Al Malafronte: Ding ding ding. Holy cow, you are two for three. That's a 667 batting average. Did you guess that because his character was a Mets fan in Smash? Did that have anything to do with it?

[23:49] Megan Hilty: No.

[23:51] Al Malafronte: No? Wow. I'm impressed nonetheless.

[23:54] Megan Hilty: Nope.

[23:55] Al Malafronte: Well, I think that if you get this next one right, you're gonna win the prize here and join the winner's circle.

[24:02] Megan Hilty: Oh my gosh, I'm so nervous.

[24:03] Al Malafronte: Oh, this is your chance, Megan. Bring them home. You're part of a great lineage in the Wicked franchise. Who's played the role of Glinda? Which of the following Broadway performers is not a member of that lineage? Is it A) Katie Rose Clark, B) Carol Lindsay, C) Amanda Jane Cooper, or D) Carrie Butler?

[24:29] Megan Hilty: Carrie Butler.

[24:31] Al Malafronte: Ding ding ding. I wish I had a bell. Megan Hilty, folks. I wish I... I would love to see Carrie Butler play Glinda. She'd be fantastic. Why hasn't that happened?

[24:39] Megan Hilty: She's got like the perkiness thing. I could definitely see her doing a good job of it. She's also got this like ageless thing going for her. You know, like I couldn't... I know her, and I couldn't tell you how old she is. And you could tell me she was 18 or a much higher number, and I'd say, okay.

[25:01] Al Malafronte: So are you saying that there's an expiration date on the... you know how you have to... you know, when it comes to Glinda, there's like a, you know, an age expiration date where you have to look up to a certain age?

[25:11] Megan Hilty: No, I not... I think the more important thing is that having Glinda, Alphabet, and Faro all be the same age. I think you just can't have one much younger or older than the other.

[25:26] Al Malafronte: Unless you had someone who got held back for a few years at Shiz, right?

[25:26] Megan Hilty: Right, right.

[25:30] Al Malafronte: Yeah.

[25:31] Megan Hilty: Yeah.

[25:31] Al Malafronte: Well, Megan, I want to grab your prize before we continue. This is a cool one.

[25:34] Megan Hilty: What is the prize?

[25:38] Al Malafronte: All right. Now, this is sort of your official welcoming to the baseball and Broadway community. You know, speaking of, you know, Wicked, a lot of our folks in our audience view Aroldis Chapman as the unofficial mascot of Break A Bat because he throws extremely fast, and he has, you know, he's pretty dear to the Wicked community these days because rather than defy gravity, we like to say he defies philosophy. So I'm really happy that you won this. Pass it along to someone from the Wicked lineage. This is a Chapman on Broadway, Break A Bat long sleeve t-shirt, because everyone loves a long sleeve t-shirt.

[26:14] Megan Hilty: Yeah.

[26:16] Al Malafronte: This is your prize for the winner's circle. Congratulations.

[26:18] Megan Hilty: I win, I win. Thank you.

[26:20] Al Malafronte: You're very welcome. And you know, I mentioned, you know, we were talking about Wicked just now. It, you know, your rookie year when you broke into show business, which is, you know, how I became familiar with your work. Did you know it was something special when you were in the show, or could you ever imagine that it would still be running today?

[26:38] Megan Hilty: Oh, yeah. Yeah. I mean, so I was I was a senior when the show opened. I was a senior in college, and I remember it opened the October of my senior year, and people kept going to New York saying, Oh my gosh, you have to see the show, you're gonna be in the show one day. You know, everybody's talking about this show, you know. Um, and uh, but everybody thought that I'd auditioned for Alphabet and not Glinda, because I didn't I didn't sing like I didn't I tried not to do the classical stuff while I was at school because I realized that there weren't very many parts on Broadway for classical singers. So I was I was like, I need to use this four years to learn how to belt, you know, and learn how to sing the stuff that's on any anyway, who cares?

Um so when I auditioned, it was about six months later, it was during my showcase. Um, you know, our senior class went to New York and did this big audition for casting directors and agents and stuff. And um I was actually auditioning for a different show that fell through, and then the casting director said, Hey, you know what? Why don't you come back and uh and audition for the Kristen Chenoweth replacement? Um and I was like, What? Nobody's ever heard me sing like this, you know. You know, the uh is it just cause I don't I didn't know why. And they had me see the show the night before and of my audition and I I had flown in from Pittsburgh where I was going to college, and I was like, nobody could do this after either of these two women.

This is insane. Like let alone me, you know, like this is so crazy. But anyway, uh I I it it was not it was never lost on me, the magnitude of that show, and uh and you could feel it the energy, uh I don't know. It it's just undeniable that that that story and those songs are going to to last a really long time. Um that it hits so many marks of what people want to see, you know. Um so yeah, I that's I've I'm I'm just answering all of your questions with really long answers. I'm sorry, I hope you can cut these down to like manageable segments, but I'm not cutting anything because I love this. Go on. If there's more to tell, tell me. Um, no, it was never it it always scared me, you know. I the magnitude of it and the the scope of it.

Um because I joined the cast about 10 months after it opened, so it was huge, it was already huge, you know. Um yeah, I was terrified. Terrified. And was there sort of like a validation moment, you know, the first time you went on where you're like, damn, I can actually do this thing? The first time I went on was the most one of the most terrifying things I've ever done in my life because uh I was a standby, so I was really separated from everybody in the cast. Um, and Adina Menzel was still there. This is, I mean, this is how long ago this was that I went into the show, and uh, and I had two hours notice to go into the show. You know, it there's there's a difference between a standby and an understudy.

An understudy is in the ensemble and they're in the show every night. They also cover uh sometimes multiple leading roles. A standby is there for one job, and that is as basically as insurance. If in case God forbid anything happens to one of your leading players, um, you have somebody who's literally just standing by, ready to go on. And um, and in Wicked, they've had to use them a lot because those two roles are so demanding physically, emotionally sometimes, you know, like it it's a lot. So um, so yeah, I I was not with the rest of the cast for those couple months. Um, I I felt very much like an outsider and very much felt like I didn't deserve to be there. So um, so that first night I was sitting in the Glinda dressing room panicking, and Adina came in and she said, Is there anything you want to go over or talk about?

And I was like, you know, it's like completely flipping out. And she did something that I will never forget, and I tell every anybody who will listen, um, she just came up to me, she put her hand on my shoulder and said, you know what? Let's just make this show our own tonight. You know, and it just that seems it seems like such a small thing, but by doing that, she gave me the permission to breathe and relax a little bit and have fun with her, you know, and actually and possibly enjoy the night instead of coming in and saying, Hey, at this point, I need you to be standing here. I need you to say this like this and that, like that. Because she could have, and she would have been completely within her right to do so. It wouldn't have been, you know, out of the ordinary or anything, but instead, she chose to uh give me the freedom of having a really exceptional first night on Broadway.

[31:55] Al Malafronte: That's absolutely yeah, seriously. What a way to break into the show. And you know, it's it's very similar in baseball in certain ways. You know, you talk about making, you know, let's make this show ours, let's make it our own. You know, you have a lot of you know, players who come up through baseball, you know, who kind of want to honor and emulate certain guys of the past who played their position, but also want to make their own unique mark on the sport. And you can't necessarily do a carbon copy of what's existing because it it's very easy for that to become stale very quickly. And you know, that's that's I think what really separates the greats of the people who are you know able to slow the game down, slow the show down and you know, make it your own and just breathe, like you said. That's awesome, yeah.

[32:38] Megan Hilty: You know, for you personally, you know, you've taken on a number of really established roles over the years. I mean, you did Audrey and Little Shop down in DC, but how does that compare to let's say originating a role like you did with Doralee at Nine to Five? But I mean, even with Doralee, somebody else had already made that role, not just originated it, but made it iconic. I mean, you know what I mean. Like you could you could look at my career and just say, oh, she's just taken things that other people have made super famous, and tried to breathe some kind of other life into it. I don't know. I not other life, I don't know what I'm saying. Um but I I always try to do what you just said. Um, I'm always trying to pay homage to the person who has um uh who has played whatever role uh before me, but also bring myself to it too.

It's a very delicate balance, but necessary because A of people's expectations and to some extent to the the reason why these roles and these shows are so iconic are because of what they did. So you can't just you can't just brush it aside and just do your own thing. You know, you have to you have to respect how it was built, but also um you can't copy them because it's not that's not real. You know, there has to be a beautiful blending of the two for it to be, I don't know, funny, moving, touching for any for any audience member to connect to it at all.

[34:28] Al Malafronte: Now let me ask you this, you know, uh you talk about bringing your personality to it. You know, do what do you think that of yourself as like a very outgoing person generally and you know, kind of bubbly, no pun intended, with you know, like with a role like Glinda, for example. Or like, you know, do you think of yourself, you know, because you've done some serious work too. Do you think that's more in line with who you are as a person?

[35:29] Megan Hilty: I don't know. I I'm I kind of run the gamut, you know. Um I don't know that I don't know that I would call myself more of one or the other. I'm kind of all over the place. Um which I mean, it is what it is. I uh but that's kind of why I was really I was really kind of shocked when I got the audition for Glinda because I was like, that's not me at all. But then I started to think about how fun that would be to do something that's so deliciously not who I am, you know.

[35:29] Al Malafronte: Yeah.

[36:41] Megan Hilty: Um yeah, I don't know. I I honestly I don't know how I would characterize myself. I because I do kind of feel like I'm all over the place.

[36:41] Al Malafronte: You play a lot of different positions, yeah.

[36:41] Megan Hilty: I do, yes, yeah. Does that make me a sh, mmm? Does that make me more of a shortstop?

[36:41] Al Malafronte: Well, here's the thing. I I you could be a middle infielder because you know there's second base and shortstop. I wouldn't call you a utility player. I think a utility player is uh someone who's in an ensemble who could you could plug into you know a few different positions on the field. Let's say a utility player is more of like a shortstop who could also play center field also, right?

[36:41] Megan Hilty: Yeah.

[36:41] Al Malafronte: So I think that, you know, I think that you're if I have to like, you know, we talk about a lot of parallels. Maybe you're you're you could be a corner infielder who could play first or third base, and you know what? I actually think that's better than shortstop for you because you know there's a there's a lot of power hitters who play first base or third base. So I think regardless of what role you're in, you bring a lot of power to the lineup and you're helping to in that way.

[36:41] Megan Hilty: Oh, I like that. You're a corner infielder. I love it. I love it. I'll take it. Maybe I need to be a coach because I'm pretty bossy. Maybe maybe I should be a coach. I don't know. I don't know. This is what I'm saying. I'm all over the place. Pretty bossy.

[36:47] Al Malafronte: Now, wait a second. I you know, does that apply, you know, with your kids in the classroom as well, around the house with your friends? Is that you like a type A personality? You have to have control.

[36:55] Megan Hilty: I yeah, I think so. I'm finding I'm finding more and more through through the pandemic that I think that's maybe who I more of who I am. Um or maybe I just need more of that during during this time. I don't know. I I just I just don't take a lot of crap.

[37:19] Al Malafronte: That's good. You need that to survive these.

[37:23] Megan Hilty: I think I think but I think that's years in in show business, you know, where we we take care of ourselves in every sense of the word. We're constantly being taken advantage of. You know, we're always the first ones that people come to to raise money for other people, you know, and for and we're expected to do it for free, even though this is what we do for a living. You know, I cannot tell you how much I've been asked to help fundraise for and for other people and organizations. And don't get me wrong, I love doing it, but at the same time, somebody has to start acknowledging that we are the ones that are we have like close to zero in bailout for us. We have the actors fund, which is phenomenal, and they're doing a really they have a really big job to do, but yeah, I is anyway.

I'm I'm di I I'm digressing, but um, yeah, I just I think uh being in this business for a certain number of years and after you know having to stand up for myself and and uh I think I think that kind of hardens you a little bit. I like to think that I have a good attitude about it still, but um, but I don't know.

[38:40] Al Malafronte: Yeah, no, I no, I think that you're you're speaking in a very honest way. Was that more prevalent when you first broke into the business where people would try to break uh take advantage of you, you know, financially, for example, or the kind of like a bad contract?

[38:54] Megan Hilty: Well, in in the beginning, you don't notice or care because all you want to do is work, you know, and you you still, after all these years, all you really want to do is work. But after a certain amount of time, you start realizing what your worth is and how people are trying to cut corners. And usually when they cut corners, it's around how they treat their performers. Um, usually, usually I don't want to put a blanket statement like like this is how all organizations treat their artists, but I just it's really highlighted for me and a lot of my friends, you know, a lot of the companies that that are begging for funding, but not taking care of the artists that, you know, are have nothing now.

[39:42] Al Malafronte: You know, honestly, um, I'm certainly happy that you've had the career trajectory that you've had because, you know, like I said, you've done so many cool things over the years, and you know, the Broadway community still loves you as much as ever, which is so great and you know, such such a big reason why I'm I'm so honored to welcome you here tonight.

[40:00] Al Malafronte: I can't wait to play fastball derby with you, by the way. This is this is like a little Oh my gosh, I'm nervous. Oh yeah, that this is where you gotta think about that guy Chapman that I told you about. He throws 105. Uh, you gotta think quick in the batter's box. But you know, there's a nuance to this because you're also a great storyteller. Um, I'm gonna ask you a question. You tell me the first thing that comes to mind. There's no rules, so just answer however you want and uh get the fans to know you a little bit better. How does that sound?

[40:29] Megan Hilty: You got it. Let's do it.

[40:30] Al Malafronte: All right. Better up. Favorite New York City meal.

[40:33] Megan Hilty: Quality meats. Uh steak at quality meats.

[40:39] Al Malafronte: Yeah.

[40:40] Megan Hilty: And broccoli rice. Oh, they're so good.

[40:43] Al Malafronte: Yeah. You just gave me some ideas for dinner tonight. Thank you.

[40:46] Megan Hilty: Oh, quality meat is oh my gosh, I miss it so much.

[40:49] Al Malafronte: Yeah. You know a thing or two about great American music. Who's America's band? The Beach Boys or the Eagles?

[41:00] Megan Hilty: Oh, how dare you. Uh oh. You know, I'm gonna say the Beach Boys. I but I mean, I'm probably gonna get in a lot of trouble for saying that, but yeah, I'm gonna say the Beach Boys.

[41:19] Al Malafronte: Wait a second. Do you have some ties to Don Henley or Joe Walsh or something that I'm not aware of that you're gonna hold into this?

[41:24] Megan Hilty: I think uh I think Don Henley's one of the greatest songwriters of all time. Um uh I don't know. I I don't know. Maybe I should say the Eagles. I don't know. I don't know. Can I'm wrong with either one. But yeah, well, oh now I'm panicking. Can't you read the headlines? Uh you know, when this episode comes out. Hilti says Americans bend the Beach Boys. I know you're gonna get me in trouble. Um maybe I should say the Eagles. I don't know. I don't know.

[42:06] Al Malafronte: Well, we'll call it even as long as you tell me you're all right. I'm gonna say the Beach Boys only because I discovered them first. I love classic rock music and I love Brian Wilson. Although I relate probably more to the late great Glenn Fry. Uh you notice that I mentioned both of them in one of our trivia questions. I'll go Beach Boys, just because they were there first. And I think that they kind of I think that they created the California sound, and that we just, you know, you're out there now.

[42:32] Megan Hilty: You know, I think you're absolutely right because uh my I grew up listening to the Beach Boys through my dad. Uh and of course I I grew up listening to the Eagles too, but I I it was I don't know. I I I do agree that yeah, I think I'm gonna stay with the Beach Boys, even though this is a very tough decision.

[42:56] Al Malafronte: Well, there's no rules and the balls coming fast. So you know what? Sometimes you you know you can't make up your mind on how you want to swing, and that's okay.

[43:04] Megan Hilty: Yeah, that was a weird, awkward bunt that I just did. Very weird. That didn't quite land right. Terminology. That's good. All right, how about this one? Team Jeter or Team Arod.

[43:18] Megan Hilty: Oh, Jeter.

[43:25] Al Malafronte: Okay. Hey, I'm I'm Team Jeter too. Welcome to the team.

[43:27] Megan Hilty: Yeah, Team Jeter.

[43:30] Al Malafronte: Favorite song that you got to perform in Smash.

[43:36] Megan Hilty: Let's be bad. And Under Pressure, honorable mention. I have Session. Honorable mention. I mean, they just keep moving the line is one of my favorite songs to sing ever. Um, and secondhand white baby grand are is is one of the most beautiful things I've ever gotten to sing ever. Uh so those are my top three.

[44:00] Al Malafronte: Those are some great ones. Also, another honorable mention, because I mentioned I love Glee. Uh, Don't Dream It's Over. I think your cover is the only version that tops Corey Monty's.

[44:10] Megan Hilty: I love that one.

[44:11] Al Malafronte: Really?

[44:12] Megan Hilty: Oh wow. Oh wow. Thanks. Thank you. That's that's one of my great regrets that that and Under Pressure are not on Spotify right now. But yeah. That's you know, really one of my favorite things uh that I got to sing was um uh uh somebody's in you got a new friend. It's the Robin song. Um I'm in the corner watching dancing on my own.

[44:36] Al Malafronte: Oh, yeah.

[44:38] Megan Hilty: Yeah, that that's the only pop song that I took to them and said, Hey, I would really like to sing this. I'd like you to make it a ballad. Um, I think it would really work for this. And they totally took it and agreed, and it was in there. And I felt like it's really my only like contribution, probably. And they were awesome. I as you can tell, I am a big fan, and it was fantastic. Um, how about this? Fact about Megan Hilty that would surprise people the most.

[45:09] Megan Hilty: Oh, uh I really love to cook. I'm not like a great cook, but I'm I I like feeding people.

[45:21] Al Malafronte: Do you have a specialty that you've kind of mastered, you know, throughout this pandemic in the kitchen?

[45:25] Megan Hilty: I don't know if it's a specialty, but um, since I live in LA, I can grill every day. So I'm out grilling like every day. Like chicken, salmon, vegetables. Yeah. Not not anything specific. Yeah, just like grilling.

[45:42] Al Malafronte: Yeah. Megan Hilty works a mean grill. That's the fact that surprises people the most.

[45:46] Megan Hilty: What surprised me? I'm very happy to hear you say all that.

[45:48] Al Malafronte: Yeah. How about this? While we're on the subject of food, actually. Favorite late night snack, two show day. Maybe you're on set for 12 hours. What's Megan grabbing before she hits the couch?

[46:00] Megan Hilty: Oh my gosh. Uh well, first of all, before a show, I drink a big coffee and have a chocolate chip cookie or uh any other kind of cookie. I'm not uh yeah, I like, and then I like salty stuff really. I give me a sweet potato fry and some ketchup or just regular fries. That's that's a real weakness for me. The potatoes, the fried potatoes and ketchup.

[46:30] Al Malafronte: Yeah. Perfect. Most embarrassing on set or on stage moment.

[46:37] Megan Hilty: Oh my god, there's so many. Um there was uh oh my god, one of them. I really could have hurt somebody. I was uh uh I so I did wicked for like four and a half years, and by like the fourth year, um, in my last like six months, they were trying to disredesign the fight wand, uh, because it kind of looked a little weird. Um, they made a different fight wand so that you could actually twirl it, you know, because it's like five feet long, it's huge. Um, but it was supposed to look like the opening wand, but it really didn't. It had like tin foil and a couple of like sequins on the end of it. It was terrible. But um, by that point, they were like, we need to redesign this to look somewhat like the opening wand.

So they were trying out all of these new designs on me. And so every couple of weeks I'd get a new one, and I had this. Um I would like test it out before the show, and then I'd test it out again before we did the the uh the scene. Anyway, one week I got real cocky, and uh I was like, Oh, I don't need to practice. So cut to me on stage, twirling this five foot um long spear, basically. I mean, it's a wand with like all these jagged things at the end, and um, and I'm twirling it like a baton, like you would normally twirl a tiny thing. And um, in the middle of it, I'm thinking, oh wow, this is really light. This one's super light. I look down and it is not in my hand anymore. It has flown into the audience of all places.

Luckily lands in one of the aisles and doesn't really hurt someone and send somebody to the hospital. Uh I mean, the whole audience was like dying laughing. I think it was nervous laughter. I think they were all like realizing how bad that could have been. And um, a nice man picked it up and came and gave it to me, and we made a little bit about it and then continued on with the show. But I mean, the stuff like that. I didn't try to kill people all the time, but stuff like that happens all the time.

[48:52] Al Malafronte: Oh my god, if only I could have been at the Gershwin for that one the night the spear flew into the audience.

[48:58] Megan Hilty: That was in Los Angeles at the Pantagus.

[49:01] Al Malafronte: Oh, that was when you did it on the road.

[49:03] Megan Hilty: That's right. So if I would have done it at the Gershwin, it really would have hurt somebody because there are no aisles in the, you know, down the middle. I think there's a couple in the back, but like it wouldn't not where I threw it.

[49:16] Al Malafronte: Right, yeah. It would have made contact with someone to flesh there.

[49:19] Megan Hilty: Absolutely. Yeah, no, absolutely. No, luckily I was in LA.

[49:27] Al Malafronte: Proudest moment of your career.

[49:30] Megan Hilty: Uh singing for President Barack Obama in Washington, DC, uh, at a Christmas event.

[49:40] Al Malafronte: Damn.

[49:41] Megan Hilty: Several years ago.

[49:43] Al Malafronte: Tough to follow to do our last question after that one. Yeah. Wow. Amazing. Well, I think you won fastball derby, but we do this question to wrap every show. And uh wow, I I'm taking it back. That was awesome. Um there's a picture of it right over there.

[50:01] Megan Hilty: That's oh, I see that here. That's me singing for the first family. And they're lit up in the back.

[50:09] Al Malafronte: Yeah. No, I have it so that I can be reminded of it every day.

[50:14] Megan Hilty: Yes, look back and you know, in times when we need comfort, especially now. That's uh that's a nice piece on the wall.

[50:20] Al Malafronte: Yeah. And um, speaking of pieces, uh, best piece of advice anyone ever gave you.

[50:29] Megan Hilty: Oh. That's hard to say. I can't. I can't remember anybody like sitting down and giving me advice. Um can I can I say the best advice that I would give myself now looking back?

[50:49] Al Malafronte: There's no rules in fastball derby, so you could absolutely do that.

[50:53] Megan Hilty: I I'm sure I'm sure people have like sat me down and said, hey, you need to do this. Um but advice I would give myself, uh, if I could go back to like my sweet young 20-year-old self, I would say uh trust that you are enough. Don't worry about what you think other people need you to be, because you are plenty enough. Um and stop being so hard on yourself. Goodness gracious. So it's we're so we're so hard on ourselves, just as like humans in general, but there's something very unique about uh about actors, you know. When when we face a lot of rejection, and it's very hard to separate uh that rejection like from yourself because ultimately you're selling yourself. So um so just trying to be better about dealing with that too.

[51:54] Al Malafronte: Yeah, that's great advice, Megan. And uh wow, I'm this was such an awesome experience getting to have you on the show. I can't thank you enough for coming on tonight.

[52:04] Megan Hilty: Thank you for having me. This is a highlight of my week.

[52:06] Al Malafronte: Thank you. So, well, this has been a there have been some great things happening this week as well. But thank you. Thank you for giving me a reason to put makeup on and brush my hair.

[52:15] Megan Hilty: How about that?

[52:18] Al Malafronte: We'll take it. So thank you. So enjoyed it, Megan.

[52:23] Megan Hilty: Thank you. You're the absolute best.

[52:24] Al Malafronte: And uh, so is everyone listening at home. Can't thank you enough for tuning in tonight in the batter's box with us. This is Al Malafronte signing off for the Broadway Podcast Network.

[52:35] Megan Hilty: We'll see you next time.

[52:37] Al Malafronte: Thanks for listening to Break a Bat. This is produced by the fine folks at the Broadway Podcast Network. Visit and subscribe at bpn.fm slash breakabat. You can find me online at break underscore a underscore bat underscore podcast. And you can also find the Broadway Podcast Network on Instagram at Broadway Podcast Network. It's been so great having you here with us today, and we'll see you next time.