Megan Hilty talks "Smash" revival, motherhood
"Smash" only aired for two seasons, but there's still a lot of passion surrounding the Steven Spielberg-produced series -- and it appears to be growing.
Starring Debra Messing, Megan Hilty, Jack Davenport, Katharine McPhee, Christian Borle, Will Chase, Jeremy Jordan and Anjelica Huston, the NBC show centered on a fictional New York City theater community and the creation of a new Broadway musical.
Lately, there's renewed interest in the musical drama, says Hilty, who portrayed seasoned Broadway veteran Ivy Lynn in the series. "The fan-base has grown so much since the show got canceled, which is sad," Hilty said laughing. "Where were you years ago?!"
"The show ended just as I feel like the whole binge-watching phenomenon started," the singer/actress continued. "So now people are looking for shows to binge-watch, and I think that's where all these amazing fans have come from. I'm reading on Twitter all over the place, 'I can't believe I missed this while it was on air and now I can't get enough of it.'"
There's been so much buzz about "Smash" that the show producers have teamed with the Actors Fund to stage a one-night-only benefit concert on June 8 at New York's Minskoff Theatre. The event will feature original cast members performing songs from "Bombshell," the Marilyn Monroe musical created in the Golden Globe-nominated series, which ran from 2012 to 2013.
Hilty said fans can expect to see "all of the songs from 'Bombshell' -- so all of the songs that Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman wrote -- fully realizing them. We're going to be doing it in full costume and wigs and everything."
Hilty, meanwhile, recently shot a TV pilot in Los Angeles for ABC "about a Broadway star who gives up the business to raise her son with her husband out in the suburbs in Chicago. And it turns out their son is this super athlete and neither of them know what to do with him."
If it gets picked up, Hilty, 34, would also get to show off her vocal chops.
"I'm playing a Broadway actress who has no outlet for her big personality and her talents. So she finds little crazy ways to perform for people," she said.
Hilty describes it as "wacky" show with "a lot of heart." And if all goes well, she hopes the as-yet-untitled project gets picked up.
In her real life, Hilty, meanwhile, recently became a mom for the first time, welcoming daughter Viola last September with husband Brian Gallagher.
"It's great...A lot of big milestones have passed recently. She has a first tooth. And she's moving all over the place," said Hilty, who says she's been feeding Viola a lot of pureed fruits and vegetables.
"Now I'm looking out for another person's well-being and I have to feed best things that I can find. So now I'm really conscious of preserving all of her food before I prepare it for her," she said.
It's a big reason why she recently teamed with Glad in time for Earth Day to help get the word out about food waste and its effects on the environment, economy and food security.
"The biggest culprits are the fruits and vegetables because they're the things that are going to perish faster than anything else," said Hilty.
She's raising awareness about how to properly preserve fruits and vegetables, along with leftovers -- "so you can get the most out of your groceries and not waste all that money." Hilty says she has started packaging all of her food as soon as she gets home from the grocery store.
Hilty's main grocery store is in New York City, where she lives her husband and their daughter. It's also where she will be performing later this spring.
"I do a lot of concerts. It's great because I perform with my husband. He's in my band and he sings with me, too. Which is great because we get to travel together. But we get to stay in New York for our two-week run at the Cafe Carlyle. It's the last two weeks in May," said Hilty.
The actress, who's starred on Broadway in "Wicked," "Gentleman Prefer Blondes" and "9 to 5: The Musical," said, "I always say that I do everything else to support my theater habit. That's the goal."
So, don't be surprised to see her on Broadway again soon.
"I'm just looking for the right next thing," she said.