Megan Hilty News

Yesterday, June 5, theatre legend Patti Lupone opened the new nightclub and restaurant, 54 Below, with a two-week engagement of a new act that will run through June 16. LuPone will play the venue Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8pm and Fridays and Saturdays at 11pm. In honor of the grand opening, LuPone treated the press to a special sneak peek of the show and BroadwayWorld was there!

Yesterday, June 4, Broadway veterans united for a fundraiser with President Barack Obama and special guest President Bill Clinton at the New Amsterdam Theater, titled- BARACK ON BROADWAY. Featuring direction by George C. Wolfe, the event was hosted by Margo Lion, Thomas Schumacher, Michael David, Lauren Mitchell, Roger Berlind, and Paul Boskin. Rob Berman was music director and John Guare acted as script consultant.

Broadway's own Seth Rudetsky was the guest 'bartender' on last night's WATCH WHAT HAPPENS LIVE on Bravo. Rudetsky treated the audience to a musical recap of the 'Real Housewives of Orange County' reality series, which he titled, 'RHOC, The Musical'. Watch his hilarious performance below!

On June 4, Broadway veterans will unite for a fundraiser with President Barack Obama and special guest President Bill Clinton at the New Amsterdam Theater, titled- BARACK ON BROADWAY. Featuring direction by George C. Wolfe, the event will be hosted by Margo Lion, Thomas Schumacher, Michael David, Lauren Mitchell, Roger Berlind, and Paul Boskin.

Masterworks Broadway will release the Encores! cast recording of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The album will be recorded in New York City this week, and will feature "A Little Girl From Little Rock," "Bye Bye Baby," and of course, the classic made famous by Marilyn Monroe, "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend."

The 20th Anniversary season of New York City Center's Tony Award-winning Encores! series will open on January 30, 2013 with Fiorello!, the show that launched the series in 1994. The season will continue with It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman, followed by On Your Toes. A Gala Encores! at 20 Celebration on November 12, 2012 will star Tony Award nominees and Encores! alumni Rauil Esparza and Kelli O'Hara.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: SONS OF THE PROPHET wins big at DCC Awards, Town Hall celebrates 1975, THE NORMAL HEART cast preps for tour, and so much more!

Season 1 of NBC's new series about the making of a musical, SMASH, ended on Monday, May 14. The show stars Katharine McPhee (American Idol Runner-Up) as the wide-eyed, inexperienced Karen hoping for a big Broadway debut, and her rival Megan Hilty (WICKED, 9 TO 5, GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES) as Ivy who has had enough of being in the ensemble and wants to be a real star. This video revisits some of the best moments from season 1 of SMASH from when Karen and Ivy first began their rivalry to when Karen sang 'Don't Forget Me' in the finale.

This July 4th, America's national Independence Day celebration kicks off our country's 236th birthday, as A CAPITOL FOURTH on PBS welcomes a brand new host, Emmy Award-winning television personality Tom Bergeron. Hot off another winning season as host of the hit TV series, DANCING WITH THE STARS, Bergeron will lead an all-star cast in a patriotic evening of unrivaled musical performances, topped off by the greatest display of fireworks anywhere in the nation. The multi award-winning event will feature acclaimed Broadway and television star Megan Hilty (SMASH); singer-songwriter Javier Colon (winner of THE VOICE); R&B superstars Kool & The Gang; four time Tony-nominated Broadway star Kelli O'Hara; the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of top pops conductor Jack Everly; plus a tribute to Team USA honoring the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams (additional talent to be announced). Broadcast live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, A CAPITOL FOURTH will air live in HD on PBS Wednesday, July 4, 2012 from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. ET (check local listings) before a concert audience of hundreds of thousands, millions more at home, as well as to our troops serving around the world on the American Forces Network. The program can also be heard live in stereo over NPR member stations nationwide.

The past couple of days have been full of announcements about 2012 television pickups. NBC's SMASH will be back, but not until January 2013 with an all new season 2. The cast just attended 2012 upfronts, where they performed pieces from the show. Check out photos, as featured on their Facebook page, below!

Adult Swim, basic cable's #1 network with young adults for seven consecutive years, sets out to 'control' the night by announcing a slate of new and returning programming at its annual Upfront presentation in New York City.

The new featured song from last night's season finale of NBC's musical drama series SMASH (Mondays, 10-11 p.m. ET), is now available from NBCUniversal Television Consumer Products and Columbia Records on the iTunes store.

The past couple of days have been full of announcements about 2012 television pickups. In addition to the return of SMASH in January 2013, NBC's upcoming fall line-up will include new shows GO ON, starring Broadway's Laura Benanti and THE NEW NORMAL, starring THE BOOK OF MORMON's Andrew Rannells. GLEE will of course be back on FOX, but next season on Thursday nights!

Last night NBC aired the season finale of SMASH! In the episode, Tom (Christian Borle) and Julia (Debra Messing) raced against time to save the show, while Derek (Jack Davenport) made a decision that changed the lives of Karen (Katharine McPhee) and Ivy (Megan Hilty) forever. Ellis (Jaime Cepero) revealed his true colors. But when he finally made his move to save "Bombshell," would it be for or against Eileen (Anjelica Huston)? In the midst of it all, another bombshell went off - this one is in Karen and Dev's (Raza Jaffrey) relationship. Check out the season 1 finale below.

The words we've all been breathlessly waiting to hear - "You're going on as Marilyn tonight," - were finally uttered by the director of the show-within-the-show, Derek (Jack Davenport), on SMASH's "Bombshell" season finale last night: Karen Cartwright (Katharine McPhee) nabbed the coveted role. Despite seemingly all of the bets being placed early in the season against Karen by viewers and critics alike insofar as her likelihood in donning the peroxide wig and beautymark - she seemed a Norma Jean but rarely an expected choice for Marilyn; certainly no match in the classic idea of the screen siren as far as the vivacious and curvaceous Ivy Lynn (Megan Hilty) was concerned. While many were quick in giving Ivy Lynn the upper hand - or upper skirt, as the case may be - it was evident from the first moment of the series that Karen, the underdog, is who we were largely meant to be rooting for above all others; the naive Iowa girl singing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" on a stage of glitterring stars, so close and yet so far away. Ivy surely made a fast and furious impression soon thereafter with "The National Pastime" in SMASH's pilot, but Karen had already been quite clearly established as our most central protagonist - perhaps with Julia (Debra Messing) equally as prominent. As the fourteen subsequent episodes have progressed, SMASH has revealed itself to be a true ensemble piece with the emphasis on the collective journey of all of the characters and how that has had an effect on the burgeoning Broadway musical at the show's core, but Karen and Julia still have remained the two given the most screen-time and exposure. Megan Hilty has nonetheless emerged as a force to be reckoned with and her performance in the role is the finest of all on the series, outshining all in her songs and scenes. The various highways, byways and alleyways by which we have journeyed on the road of SMASH from the beginning to last night has unquestionably been leading to the BOMBSHELL first preview performances and the reveal of who would ultimately win the part of a lifetime in the show-within-the-show - and, on that count, the SMASH season finale bared all. And, as if all of that were not enough - cameos from Broadway heavyweights Bernadette Peters and Nick Jonas, too!

Estamos de enhorabuena. Al fin podemos disfrutar de Smash en nuestro país. El canal de pago AXN White sirve de plataforma para el lanzamiento español de la serie, estrenada en la NBC el pasado 6 de febrero con una audiencia superior a los 11 millones de espectadores en su primer capítulo. Se trata de una producción de DreamWorks Television (con el mismísimo Steven Spielberg al mando) creada por Theresa Rebeck y con canciones, especialmente compuestas para la ocasión por Marc Shaiman y Scott Whitman. A día de hoy, en que se emite el último capítulo de la primera temporada en Estados Unidos, sabemos que hay renovación para una segunda. Y si esto sigue así, podemos asegurar que tendremos Smash para rato.

Don't forget to tune in tonight to the season finale of SMASH! In the episode, Tom (Christian Borle) and Julia (Debra Messing) race against time to save the show, while Derek (Jack Davenport) makes a decision that will change the lives of Karen (Katharine McPhee) and Ivy (Megan Hilty) foreveR. Ellis (Jaime Cepero) reveals his true colors. But when he finally makes his move to save "Bombshell," will it be for or against Eileen (Anjelica Huston)? In the midst of it all, another bombshell goes off - this one is in Karen and Dev's (Raza Jaffrey) relationship.

Megan Hilty and Rachel York star in the Encores! production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, which opened on May 9 at New York City Center. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was directed by John Rando with music direction by Rob Berman and choreography by Randy Skinner and played for seven performances, May 9 - 13, at New York City Center. BroadwayWorld was on hand for the closing reception and brings you photo coverage below!

Megan Hilty and Rachel York starred in the Encores! production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, which opened on May 9 at New York City Center. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was directed by John Rando with music direction by Rob Berman and choreography by Randy Skinner and played for seven performances, May 9 - 13, at New York City Center, 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. Check out these photographs of the last night curtain call from BroadwayWorld's Walter McBride.

Today we are continuing BroadwayWorld's month-long Tony Awards clip countdown - which culminates in the Tony telecast itself on Sunday, June 10 - with a handful of Tony moments featuring members of the awesomely talented cast of NBC's musical drama series SMASH - season finale airing at 10 PM tonight - years before their big TV breakthrough roles on the hit show, which has been officially renewed for a second season: Megan Hilty, Brian d'Arcy James and a Tony Award nominee this year, Christian Borle!