" The National Pastime " is an original song introduced in the first episode of the first season of the musical TV series Smash , entitled " Pilot ". The song was written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman , but in the show's universe, it was written by songwriting duo Tom Levitt ( Christian Borle ) and Julia Houston ( Debra Messing ) for their Marilyn Monroe musical Bombshell .
28-483: In the episode, Ivy Lynn ( Megan Hilty ) performs this baseball number, choreographed by director and choreographer Derek Wills ( Jack Davenport ), with a male ensemble in front of producer Eileen Rand ( Anjelica Huston ), Derek, Tom and Julia as an audition for Derek to see if Tom and Julia want to work with him. The song is reprised in the workshop medley of the first season's seventh episode entitled " The Workshop " by Ivy, and by Karen Cartwright ( Katharine McPhee ) in
56-739: A "show-stopping number." DFW.com comments that "the song is staged with the razzmatazz that marks the best Broadway numbers, and when Hilty and a group of male dancers perform it, Smash begins to catch fire." Megan Hilty Megan Kathleen Hilty (born March 29, 1981) is an American actress and singer. She rose to prominence for her roles in Broadway musicals, including her performance as Glinda in Wicked , Doralee Rhodes in 9 to 5: The Musical , and her Tony Award –nominated role as Brooke Ashton in Noises Off . She also starred as Ivy Lynn on
84-635: A coffee and tea product line. In 2010, Hilty confirmed that she would voice the character of the China Princess in the animated film Dorothy of Oz . In 2011, it was announced that she was cast in the NBC musical-drama series Smash , opposite Debra Messing , Anjelica Huston , and Brian d'Arcy James . The series premiered on February 6, 2012, and aired for two seasons. In May 2012, Hilty appeared in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes as
112-648: A fast food manager helping out with a murder at Choozy's Chicken. She also appeared in two episodes of Desperate Housewives as the other woman to Carlos' boss. Hilty also lent her talents in Rated RSO: The Music and Lyrics of Ryan Scott Oliver at the Boston Court Performing Arts Center in December 2009, alongside Lesli Margherita , Steve Kazee , Morgan Karr , Natalie Weiss, and others. Hilty also branched off into
140-523: A part of the Encores! staged concert series. She appeared as Lorelei Lee alongside Brennan Brown , Simon Jones , and Rachel York . Hilty received rave reviews for her performance, with The New York Times rating her performance on par with those of Carol Channing and Marilyn Monroe . In November 2012, it was announced that Hilty would appear on the album I'm Ready: The Songs of Rob Rokicki . Hilty released her debut solo album, It Happens All
168-565: Is an American actress and singer, best known for her theatrical performances. She originated the role of Cynthia Murphy in the Tony Award-winning musical, Dear Evan Hansen , and received a Tony Award nomination for her performance as Hope Cladwell in Urinetown . She is also known for being the first replacement for Kristen Chenoweth as Glinda in Wicked on Broadway. Thompson made her Broadway debut in 1998 as Ariel Moore in
196-751: The Marquis Theatre on April 7, 2009, with an official opening on April 30, 2009, closing on September 6, 2009. For this role, Hilty was nominated for the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical, the Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance, and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical . In 2009, Hilty appeared in an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation entitled " Deep Fried and Minty Fresh ", playing
224-612: The Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play , the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play , and the Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance . That same year, she recurred as Charlene on Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce . On July 7, 2016, Hilty appeared alongside Matthew Morrison for an evening with The New York Pops at the Forest Hills Stadium in Queens . In November 2021, it
252-525: The musical adaptation of the 1980 film 9 to 5 . The production was directed by Joe Mantello , with a pre-Broadway run at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, which opened on September 9, 2008. Hilty had participated in workshops and readings as the character Doralee Rhodes (the character Dolly Parton had played in the film version). The musical began preview performances on Broadway at
280-475: The 2004 national tour of Little Shop of Horrors for the role of Audrey. However, despite being initially cast as Audrey, the producers let her go after Anthony Rapp was cast as Seymour and they told Hilty she was "too young/not age appropriate" to play opposite Rapp. Hilty then auditioned for the musical Wicked . She moved to New York City after graduating and, in August 2004, made her Broadway debut as
308-705: The Park and Luisa in The Fantasticks . She has also made a guest appearance on television's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit . She also starred in the Encores! production of On the Town which ran from November 19 to 23, 2008. Thompson starred as Diana in the Broadway revival of Lend Me a Tenor , which officially opened April 4, 2010, at the Music Box Theatre . On December 17, 2010, it
SECTION 10
#1732802422723336-650: The Performing Arts in Mountain View, California . In addition to her stage work, Hilty has made guest appearances on television shows including The Closer , The Suite Life of Zack & Cody , Ugly Betty , CSI: Crime Scene Investigation , Desperate Housewives , and Shark . She was the singing voice of Snow White in the animated feature film Shrek the Third . In 2008, Hilty joined Allison Janney , Stephanie J. Block , and Marc Kudisch in
364-671: The Time , on March 12, 2013. On June 13, 2013, it was announced that Hilty would star alongside Sean Hayes in the NBC sitcom Sean Saves the World . The series was cancelled on January 28, 2014, after airing 13 episodes. In July 2015, it was reported that Hilty would return to Broadway in the Roundabout Theatre Company 's revival of Noises Off , portraying Brooke Ashton. For her performance, Hilty received nominations for
392-961: The Washington Academy of Performing Arts Conservatory High School in Redmond , and later attended the Chrysalis School in Woodinville . Hilty graduated from the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in 2004 and is a member of the Actors' Equity Association . She is a recipient of the National Society of Arts and Letters Award for Excellence in Musical Theater. Shortly before graduating from Carnegie Mellon University , Hilty auditioned for
420-733: The Westchester Broadway Theatre (as Connie), Pardon My English , Strike up the Band !, and most recently, Of Thee I Sing for City Center Encores! , and Tip-Toes at Carnegie Hall . She played Julie Jordan in the first national tour of Carousel , and appeared in national tours for Jesus Christ Superstar (as Mary) and The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber . Regionally, she has played roles such as Laura in The Glass Menagerie , Corie in Barefoot in
448-601: The first replacement actress for the role of Glinda in the Broadway hit musical Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre . Her first performance replacing Kristin Chenoweth was on July 20, 2004, and continued in the role for over ten months. During her run as Glinda, she performed opposite Idina Menzel and Shoshana Bean as Elphaba. She departed the company on May 29, 2005. She was replaced by Megan Hilty , who had served as her standby. Thompson would later return to
476-506: The musical Nice Work If You Can Get It , which opened on Broadway in spring 2012 at the Imperial Theatre . Thompson has also starred in the role of Cynthia Murphy in the Broadway production of Dear Evan Hansen at the Music Box Theatre from December 4, 2016, to August 4, 2019. Thompson has a husband, John Kain, and a son, Thomas. She attended and graduated from Birmingham Groves High School in 1987. She graduated from
504-577: The musical-drama series Smash , on which she sang the Grammy Award -nominated " Let Me Be Your Star ", and portrayed Liz on the sitcom Sean Saves the World . Hilty was born in Bellevue, Washington , the daughter of Donna and Jack Hilty. She began taking vocal lessons at the age of 12 and was interested in performing opera . She attended Sammamish High School in Bellevue then transferred to
532-550: The original cast of Footloose . She also originated the role of Hope Cladwell in both the off-Broadway and Broadway productions of Urinetown . She received a Tony Award nomination for the 2002 Best Leading Actress in a Musical category for her performance as Hope in Urinetown ; the award went to Sutton Foster for her performance in Thoroughly Modern Millie . Thompson is also well known for being
560-483: The performers as "enthusiastic" and full of "barely bridled sexuality," it notes that "corny doesn’t begin to describe [the number]," and concludes by saying "'The National Pastime' is a big fat swing, leg-kick and a miss." Dan from TV Fanatic named the song as his favourite from the pilot, saying it "blew [him] away". Brittany Frederick of Starpulse.com comments that she "can't warm to [the song] for some reason." Andy Swift of HollywoodLife describes "The National Pastime" as
588-605: The production on Broadway, at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre , with previews beginning Oct 23, before opening on Nov 21st. Hilty was in a relationship with actor Steve Kazee from 2005 until 2012. On November 2, 2013, Hilty married actor Brian Gallagher in Las Vegas , Nevada. In March 2014, she announced that she was expecting their first child. Hilty gave birth to a girl, Viola Philomena Gallagher, on September 18, 2014. On September 24, 2016, she announced that she
SECTION 20
#1732802422723616-544: The role in the Los Angeles sit-down production, which began previews on February 10, 2007, and opened on February 21. She left the production on May 18, 2008, and was replaced by Erin Mackey , only to return on October 31, 2008, to close the production, which played its final performance on January 11, 2009. Hilty starred in the musical Vanities during its premiere engagement at the Mountain View Center for
644-495: The seventh episode of the second season " Musical Chairs ". The song was originally released as a single at digital music retailers and is available as a track on the cast album Bombshell . DFW.com describes the number as "Marilyn, now in love with Joe DiMaggio, tries to 'understand' baseball in a song laced with double-entendres". The scene cuts between "rehearsal-hall test and what the Broadway show might look like when fully lit and costumed." Although Dodger Thoughts describes
672-552: The standby for Glinda the Good Witch . She performed in the role for the first time on October 8, 2004, opposite Idina Menzel as Elphaba. Hilty took over the role from Jennifer Laura Thompson on May 31, 2005. After playing the role for a year, Hilty ended her run on May 28, 2006, and was succeeded by Kate Reinders . Hilty then reprised the role on the first national tour of the show from September through December 2006, replacing Kendra Kassebaum . Soon after, Hilty originated
700-613: The theatre on October 27, 2008, to take part in a one-off performance titled "The Yellow Brick Road Not Taken", a presentation of rough scenes and songs cut from early drafts of Wicked . Off-Broadway , Thompson played the lead role of Charlotte in the Michael John LaChiusa musical, Little Fish at the Second Stage Theatre. She also appeared in A Doll's Life at the York Theatre, Good News at
728-474: Was announced that Hilty would be playing Lily St. Regis in NBC's Annie Live! , replacing Jane Krakowski who withdrew from the show after getting a breakthrough case of COVID-19 . In 2024, Hilty starred in the stage adaptation of Death Becomes Her as Madeline Ashton, opposite co-lead Jennifer Simard as Helen Sharp. The production's out of town tryout ran at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre from April 30 through June 2, 2024. Hilty and Simard will lead
756-660: Was announced that she would be featured in the premiere of the musical version of the film Little Miss Sunshine at the La Jolla Playhouse in La Jolla, California. The musical ran at La Jolla from February 15 through March 27, 2011, with Thompson in the role of Sheryl Hoover. She did not play in the Off-Broadway production (which ran in November to December 2013). Thompson starred as Eileen Evergreen in
784-442: Was pregnant with her second child. Their son, Ronan Laine Gallagher, was born on March 13, 2017. On September 4, 2022, Hilty's sister Lauren, brother-in-law Ross Mickel, and nephew Remy were killed in a floatplane crash into Puget Sound off the coast of Whidbey Island . Lauren Hilty-Mickel was eight months pregnant at the time of her death. Jennifer Laura Thompson Jennifer Laura Thompson (born December 5, 1969)
#722277