Megan Hilty’s professional career began on the stage – her Broadway debut was Glinda to Idina Menzel’s Elphaba in Wicked – and has since transitioned to the small screen on NBC’s musical drama Smash to her recently released solo album, It Happens All the Time (available in stores and on iTunes). She’ll be returning to the stage at Austin’s Zach Theatre on June 18 (shows at 7:00pm and 9:30pm), and she graciously took time to speak with BroadwayWorld to discuss her album, Smash, her upcoming concerts, and what’s next for Megan Hilty.

You were in Austin relatively recently – what brought you to Texas?

I was! The producer of my album, It Happens All the Time, lives in Austin and so last summer I came down three or four times for an extended period of time and stayed in a hotel and would go work in the studio all day and go listen to music at night. Well, really, most importantly, I’d go to all the amazing restaurants there. I’m going to have to revisit all of them in the 48 hours that I’m there.

What spurred your decision to release a solo album?

It’s something that I always wanted to do but didn’t know what my voice was or what my sound would be. I always felt like I didn’t have anything to say, so why make an album? And I never wanted to make just an album with all the musical theatre songs I knew – that wasn’t appealing to me. We originally started out with a totally different concept – it was going to be all covers of top songs from soundtracks, and then Columbia started sending down all these originals for us to try out and so many of them worked out that we just we abandoned that original concept. It sort of turned into a break-up album, without us ever intending it to.

If someone had asked you 10 years ago where you thought you would be today, would it have been anything like your reality?

No! I would have told you the exact same thing that I would tell you now if you asked me what I’ll be doing in 10 years: I want to be working, and that is it. I would have never imagined this, quite frankly, but I’m happy that I’m actually working.

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[SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE SERIES FINALE OF SMASH!!!!]

After two seasons, the curtain has closed on NBC’s ambitious musical Smash. The series climaxed with Marilyn Monroe musical Bombshell winning big at the Tonys, including awards for Ivy (Megan Hilty) and composers Tom (Christian Borle) and Julia (Debra Messing). It also marked the end of an attempt to reboot the series under new executive producer Joshua Safran (Gossip Girl), who replaced series creator Theresa Rebeck. EW talked to Safran about the surprising finale, what season 3 would have looked like, and Rebeck’s criticism of his Smash.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: When did you know this would be the series finale and not the season finale?
JOSHUA SAFRAN: It was like day two of episode 15 when the premiere aired. So 16 and 17 are the two-hour finale – 17 had already been broken and not broken as a series finale. Then after the ratings came through from the première, it was like maybe it would be, maybe it wouldn’t be. Then, as the next airing happened two weeks later, it was clear. The plot actually didn’t change — it was always the Tonys and the people who win and lose were the same people whether it was season finale or a series finale. We had to cut for time because the finale ended up being 15 minutes over, and those scenes will be on the DVD. But after Karen is at Table 46 at the end of the episode, before Jimmy comes to talk to her, an agent played by Nadja Dajani comes over to her and says, “I know you didn’t win tonight, but I want to tell you I think you’re incredible and I don’t just think you’re a stage star — I think you’re a movie star.” It would have paved the way for what the plan for season 3 was.

The plan for season 3 in my mind was a Hollywood movie musical. It would shoot in New York. I felt like after two seasons of watching two shows full trajectories, I didn’t want to repeat the story again so I thought I would take the season off and do a movie musical still using Broadway actors, still using Broadway stages, maybe it would have even been set in the world of Broadway. Who knows because we didn’t even get that far but it would have given audiences a season to [see] a different way of muscials being put together and then you could come back to Broadway in season 4. You see the seeds that are in the finale.

I’m still surprised that Ivy came out the winner in all of this because season one she was basically the villain. I know you put her through major character rehab.
We always knew that the real love stories of the season were Derek and Ivy, Jimmy and Karen, and Julia and Tom. In the very beginning of the year when the writers all got together and we had to make the big pitch to the network and the producers, that was always in it. But who was going to win was a closely guarded secret. Only I knew who was going to win the Tonys for a really long time. Then at a certain point I told the writers. We always knew that Bombshell was going to win. The question of whether it was Ivy or Karen, I actually made the decision very early on that Karen wouldn’t win. The question was going to be whether neither of them won or whether Ivy won. For a while, it was going to be maybe Ivy wins supporting and neither of them would win actress, so we went back and forth on it. About halfway through the season, because Ivy had gone through so much in season one and season two, was all about the phoenix from the ashes for her and for everybody. We just knew halfway through it has to be Ivy. She’s just been through too much and that role is so iconic and you’ve seen her deliver it so well.

The only thing that was a last-minute addition was that Derek wasn’t going to win choreography — he was going to win nothing. Then we all talked about it and we all realized it was more realistic that he would win and that people wouldn’t necessarily embrace that but the work would still be respected. Derek’s private demons are what he really needs to deal with, not being snubbed. So that was pretty much the last change that was made before we shot the finale.

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Megan Hilty

Even though the series finale of Smash airs Sunday, Megan Hilty will never forget the star-making experience.

“The show has changed my life in a million ways,” she tells me during Dr. Scholl’s Active Series Countdown To Summer Fitness event held at The Sports Center in Chelsea Piers in NY. “Getting to work with the people I’ve gotten to work with through the show, I’m so grateful. Folks on the creative team, the cast and the crew. I’ve made lifelong friends, like Katharine McPhee. “

OK! GALLERY: KATHARINE MCPHEE, MEGAN HILTY AND JENNIFER HUDSON FILM SCENES FOR SMASH IN NYC

She continues, “I got to do things artistically that I’ve never done before. I’ve never played a real mean girl like this [laughs]. I behaved badly, and I got to sing, dance, put on amazing costumes and work with incredible people. It really has changed my life.”

The Broadway veteran, 32, who has starred in Wicked and 9 To 5: The Musical, compares and contrasts Smash to the actual theater world.

“It’s similar in some ways, but of course, we have to embellish a lot to make it a TV show,” she says. “There is very stiff competition, and very big personalities. What you didn’t quite see on Smash is there’s an awesome community in the Broadway world, too. You do these shows and you become a family, which, I would assume that if we’d gotten another season, they would’ve explored that.”

The Washington native finds that performing together—whether on Smash, on Broadway, after school or even at summer camp—helps form deep connections.

“There’s a level of intimacy that you develop with the people you perform with because you’re so vulnerable onstage,” she says. “You’re giving a piece of yourself when you’re out there, so inevitably you’re going to build incredible bonds with the people you’re doing it alongside.”

What’s next?

“I’m not quite sure,” she says. “I just got released from my contract [laughs], and I’m trying to figure it out. I released an album, It Happens All The Time, so I’ll be promoting that, and I’m doing a workshop of a musical this summer. Who knows after that. I’m excited to find out myself.”

Catch the series finale of Smash, which airs Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.

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Smash won our annual fan-voted Save One Show competition, but alas, nothing could save this doomed series.

NBC officially announced the cancellation of Smash earlier this week, breaking the hearts of fans everywhere. But if it’s any consolation, stars Debra Messing and Megan Hilty were also super bummed to see it go. So when we caught up with them at an event hosted by BlackBerry at Catch Roof in New York City, we had to ask them about the series finale (airing May 26) and their reaction when they got the bad news.

“It’s unfortunate, but I learned a long time ago that there are lots of things out of my control and this is one of them,” Hilty tells us about getting the ax. “All I can do is be grateful for the experience and look forward to the future. I am really thankful for the doors that opened for me at Smash and had a really, really amazing time.”

Hilty also took the time to gush about costar Katharine McPhee, who she says will always be her favorite memory of Smash. “She turned out to be one of my greatest friends through all of this and we had such a great time together.”

As for the finale, Hilty promises no cliffhangers. “[Showrunner Joshua Safran] had actually wrote the season finale as it could be a series finale just in case so people won’t be left hanging,” Hilty reveals. “Things do tie up pretty nicely.”

Finally, Messing and Hilty have messages for the dedicated fans of Smash (that’s you!):

Hilty: “Thank you for watching and giving us all your support!”

Messing: “To all my most amazing craziest fans out there, thank you for all your support for me always on Will & Grace and Smash. I really love you and your dedication means so much.”

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