The Multi-Talented Megan Hilty

Broadway's Bombshell Bewitches the Berkshires

By Dr. Joshua Sherman

Photo By Leah Portis and Laura Matula

July 2026

Read Berkshire Magazine's July 2026 Issue.

BARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY will welcome Broadway and television star Megan Hilty to the Boyd-Quinson Theater on Monday, July 20. With a versatile voice that effortlessly moves between Broadway, pop, country, and the standards, Hilty has become one of the most recognizable leading ladies of her generation, earning acclaim for her performances in Wicked, 9 to 5, Death Becomes Her, and the TV show Smash. Those attending the one-night-only BSC performance can expect a range of songs from Hilty’s career woven together with personal anecdotes from her life, both onstage and off. The Grammy® nominee and four-time Tony Award® nominee is equally at home in concert halls, television studios, recording booths, Broadway theaters, and doing animation voiceovers. She admits, though, that she loves the intimacy of cabaret, particularly when accompanied by long-time friend (and Grammy®-nominated Berkshire native) Matt Cusson.

Cusson explains, "I first met Megan through another insanely talented friend of mine, Shoshana Bean ... but Megan and I really connected back in 2011 for the Christmas at Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting television show. I was there playing with CeLo Green and Javier Colon, and Megan was doing a performance on her own. Our dressing rooms were in the Saturday Night Live studios, and mine happened to be right next to hers. Not too long after that, she needed a pianist for a gig in NYC, and she called me.

That was the beginning of our almost 15-year stage relationship. Since then, we've arranged together, done a couple albums together, traveled the world together, she was featured on my 2017 album, Only Human. The professional relationship is strong, and the friendship is even stronger."

In fact, Hilty's first visit to the Berkshires was for Cusson's wedding!

On bringing Hilty back to the Berkshires, Cusson comments, "There's nothing like playing in my hometown. I've received nothing but the best support through the years, and I'm so thankful to everyone who's been on this crazy ride with me. I've been wanting to get Megan here for years, and I'm beyond thrilled that it's finally happening! Megan is truly one of the most talented people I know. And beyond her talent, she is one of my favorite people on earth. She can sing anything, she's absolutely hilarious, and her connection to her audiences is something that I'm still learning from her every time we do a show. My hometown friends haven't seen me like this yet, play the piano this way, play and sing these songs, so I'm very excited for the opportunity so share the stage with one of my closest friends and favorite performers out there.

Megan, we’re thrilled to have you join us in the Berkshires. What can audiences expect?

The whole point of cabaret concerts is to get to know the artist outside of the characters that they play. At the beginning of every show, I always state, “You might have bought a ticket not knowing who the heck I am, but by the end of the night, we’re going to be best friends.” And that’s my goal: Through the music and the stories that I share, you’ll get to know me as a person outside of “Glinda” and “Doralee” and “Madeline” and all of these amazing characters that I’ve gotten to play.

Not every Broadway artist is comfortable revealing their story.I love the fact that you want people to get to know you as a person.

It really terrified me in the beginning. I was like, “What do I have to say? Nobody wants to sit and listen to me for 90 minutes.” Over the years, it’s become my absolute favorite thing. It’s not difficult finding music that is really close to my heart. I always start with the mandatory songs. I mean, there are certain songs from Smash or Wicked, that if I don’t sing, some people might be upset. How great is it that I have songs people would be upset NOT to hear?

What are those most requested songs?

“Second Hand White Baby Grand,” “Let Me Be Your Star,” “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” “9 to 5,” “For Good,” “Popular.” That’s half the set right there. So, it’s usually half that and half trying new things that I’ve done in my career. It’s always a fun balancing act. It’s really thought out and planned carefully, but there is an element of improvisation; if I’ve guessed wrong and the set doesn’t seem to be hitting like I want it to, my band can change on a dime. I can look at them and say, “We’re doing this now,” and they’ll go with me because we’ve been doing it for so long. There’s shorthand. It’s why this has become my favorite thing, because I have complete control over something in a career where so much of what I do depends on other people telling me what I’m allowed to do.

I was thinking about your career.Of course, people think of Smash, but you also do quite a bit of country music. Can audiences expect any of that? Patsy Cline was a big moment for you, when you starred in the 2019 Lifetime biographical television movie Patsy & Loretta.

Funny—I’m from Seattle, but I get cast to play Southern women all the time. I don’t know what it is. I love it. Between Dolly and Patsy, I can’t do a set without doing at least “9 to 5” or “Crazy” or both, because those were such huge parts of my life. Not only are they iconic songs that everybody knows and loves, but they’re a huge part of who I am. I performed them during very formative times in my life. So, yeah, this Pacific Northwest girl will always be doing country music.

Do you see yourself doing a lot more cabaret?

This was always the goal. 9 to 5 put my cabaret and concert career on hold, because I physically couldn’t do both. It’s great to take it off hold. It’s not like it ever went away, but it was on pause. So, it’s nice to press play again and dive back into these concerts. I do concerts and cartoons. I do a lot of animation voiceover work. Those are my day jobs that I love, and I am so lucky to do them. It means that I can wait until the right show comes along—right for me, right for my family, right for wherever I am in my career. These concerts and cartoons create somewhat of a sense of stability in this roller coaster of a career I’ve chosen.

I did not know that you do so much animated voice work. Can you talk a little bit about that?

I made a real push to get into animation because I’ve always loved that medium. I’m such a technical nerd when it comes to talking about technicalities with producing sounds with your voice and stuff like that. So, I really, really enjoy being in the studio and working with directors who know what they’re saying. Voice direction is a very specific art. I’ve been so lucky to work with Disney and Cartoon Network and Netflix and Nickelodeon. Concerts are my favorite thing, but the voiceover stuff is competing for that favorite spot, because it’s so much fun. A lot of the directors I work with love singers because we inherently understand how to tell a story with sound and not physicality.

I want to circle back to Broadway before we end our chat. Because of the voiceover and cabaret work, you can pick and choose your roles. What iconic dream roles are still out there for you?

I would love to play Dolly Levi in Hello Dolly. Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd is the one on my bucket list. It’s my favorite musical.

An Evening with Megan Hilty with Special Guest Matt Cusson, Monday, July 20, 8 p.m. barringtonstageco.org