Megan Hilty
Café Carlyle, NYC, June 20, 2023
Reviewed by Alix Cohen
Megan Hilty
Photo: David Andrako
Most of us are familiar with Megan Hilty through her appearances on Broadway or on television where she’s playing a role. Her warmth (this fresh-faced Washington blonde still says “my goodness!”) and her seemingly small-town humor shine through in person. Hilty and her band—husband Brian Gallagher on guitar, Dennis Michael Keefe on bass, Jack DeBoe on drums, and MD/pianist Matt Cusson—brighten Café Carlyle this week before the famed venue closes for summer.
Hilty kicked off her show with a robust “Let’s Be Bad,” most recently from Broadway’s Some Like It Hot, but introduced on the television show Smash. On Smash, Hilty played one of two actresses vying for the role of Marilyn Monroe in a Broadway musical called Bombshell (now actually coming to Broadway). It’s a BIG opening number and performed just a tad fast for us to enjoy the performer’s expert flirt.
“They just keep movin’ the line” she sings (“They Keep Movin’ the Line, also from Smash by, Mark Shaiman/Scott Whittman), as her voice fanned out with terrific control.
Megan Hilty and husband Brian Gallagher
Photo: David Andrako
“What a Guy” (David Zippel/ Marvin Hamlisch from The Goodbye Girl) which was dedicated to her husband, followed with great heart. (Oh, how he gazed at her.) He then duetted with her on “You and Me on the Rock”: “I’ll build me a house up on this rock, baby/Every day with you/There’s nothin’ in this town I need/After everything we’ve been through.” This Brandy Carlile song was folksy, with a pristine guitar and back-up harmony like gauze. The lyrics were long, yet we barely saw Hilty take a breath; she made it look easy. The percussion was rich and textured.
Two songs popularized by Patsy Cline (Hilty played her in a television movie) arrived as if Hilty WAS Virginia born. “Crazy” (Willie Nelson) slipped/slided with a hint of country yodel. Hilty’s right leg pulsed through the slit in her black-sequined gown. “Om crazeee,” she sings with a shrug, “Crazy for tryin” (eyebrows rose), “Crazy for cryin’/Crazy for lovin’ you.” Notes descended as if they were sledding downhill. Cline’s own “Walkin’ After Midnight” arrived with an infectious groove and spirit. “I get cast as southern women all the time,” Hilty told us; one can see why.
For three years, Hilty was involved in the development of the musical Nine to Five, based on the 1980 film. The piece reached Broadway in April 2009 and was gone by September despite receiving four Tony and 15 Drama Desk nominations. She played Doralee Rhodes, the Dolly Parton role. Everything we’ve heard about the singer/songwriter is true, she assures us. Parton is a wonderful person. “Backwoods Barbie” showcased the elasticity of Hilty’s voice. “Nine to Five” evoked spontaneous clapping in time. Hilty bobbed, threw up a hand, and played the air with her fingers—a signature move. Fun!
“It’s been a very rough year for my family,” she shared. Assuming that we knew that she had lost her sister, brother-in-law, and their baby in a car crash, she discreetly made no explanation. (I looked it up.) “This song is my way to keep her and her family alive” introduced a tender “I’ll Be Seeing You.” Brushes circled, the piano whispered, the isolated bass notes hummed. Both hands grasped the mic stand.
Hilty made every bruised note shimmer and linger with her soprano. It was a lovely chanteuse-like arrangement. Her vocals adapted so perfectly to the material that you’d think there were several singers on stage.
“That’s Life” (Dean Kay/Kelly Gordon), performed in Smash, was a duet by Hilty and Cusson, who has a fine voice and an appealing attitude. It was full-out sass and smiles. The artist then meticulously explained what was to come: a song with two false endings, followed by her acting abashed at the applause, which would then compel her to sing another song and then fake an exit to deliver the encore. We were on her side. A wide-eyed, provocative “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” (Leo Robin/Jule Styne) seemed like second nature to her. If only there were more stage on which to parade. Applause followed. “I don’t know what to DO!” she bemoaned. Then, “Hit it!” Hilty sang the closing song to her unborn children and now used it as a lullaby. “The Rainbow Connection” (Paul Williams/Kenneth Ascher) was charming and artful. The piano was on tiptoe, the cymbals shivered. Her vocal was silk/satin, the kind that swishes. “Da-da-da-dee-da-da dum.”
This was a well calibrated and entertaining evening.
