Megan Hilty
Megan Hilty
Feinstein’s at the Nikko, San Francisco, CA, September 27th, 2015
Reviewed by Steve Murray for Cabaret Scenes
Photo: Albert Michael
Megan Hilty shot out of the starting gate quickly and hasn’t slowed down yet. A musical theater wunderkind in high school and college, she graduated to Broadway starring roles, the very popular TV hit Smash, and maintains an active voiceover career, providing the voice of Rosetta in the Disney Fairies series and the China Doll Princess in the animated feature Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return.
During this brief hiatus (she heads back to Broadway December 17th as Brooke Ashton in Noises Off), Hilty performed a set of her favorites before an adoring audience. She has a formidable belter’s voice, easily heard in the back rows of large theaters, and fans cheer heartily for her big, strong finishes. But give me a pared down, subtle ballad like “A Place Called Home” (Alan Menken/Lynn Ahrens) or Smash’s “Second Hand Baby White Grand” (Marc Shaiman/Scott Wittman). This is where Hilty shines brightly. Slowing the tempo on a cover of Don Henley’s “Heart of the Matter” and Fran Landesman/Tommy Wolfs’s gorgeous “The Ballad of the Sad Young Men” (an homage to Kurt Elling) were set highlights, showing a vulnerable, poignant side of this Broadway star. Her comic range is illustrated nicely in the cult hit “Alto’s Lament” (Zina Goldrich/Marcy Heisler) and 9 to 5’s “Backwoods Barbie” (Dolly Parton).
Hilty is charming, vivacious and über-talented. In the current stable of young entertainers, Megan Hilty is a thoroughbred through and through.
Category: Cabaret Reviews, Regional, San Francisco, San Francisco Cabaret Reviews
