Review: Megan Hilty, Matthew Morrison Join The New York Pops

Led by the charismatic and energetic Steven Reineke, the New York Pops took a summer break from its historic Carnegie Hall home to enjoy the outdoor setting of Forest Hills Stadium.

Making the trip with them was a leading pair of Broadway lights, Matthew Morrison and Megan Hilty.

After a grand orchestral solo of Kander and Ebb's "New York, New York," Morrison jokingly introduced himself from an offstage microphone as, "playing a role he was born to play, because he's playing himself," before launching into a slick and snazzy "Come Fly With Me."

Since his big Broadway break in 2002's HAIRSPRAY, Morrison has developed into a consummate night-club style entertainer, accenting jaunty croons of standards like "The Lady Is A Tramp," "On The Street Where You Live," "Singin' In The Rain" and "It's All Right With Me" with swingin' dance breaks and comic antics like dangling his feet from the stage and grabbing the baton from Reineke to take over conducting chores.

His eight-minute rehash of the plot and musical highlights from HAIRSPRAY is a gem, but he also presented lonely sincerity when changing Lionel Bart's OLIVER! ballad to "As Long As She Needs Me."

Megan Hilty showed off her brassy pipes with "Luck Be A Lady," making her entrance in a stunning red gown. The recent NOISES OFF Tony nominee accents her vocal panache with Hollywood glamour, quipping to the audience at one exit, "I'll be back with another dress!"

Her big band pairing of "Almost Like Being In Love" and "This Can't Be Love" transitioned to a warm and elegant combination of "Autumn Leaves" and "When October Goes." Her terrific bluesy rendition of Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman's "They Just Keep Moving The Line," which she describes as her favorite song from her TV series, "Smash," was followed by Stephen Schwartz's WICKED favorite, "Popular," sung in her high-pitched Glinda voice.

"Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend," performed in its original march tempo, was a triumphant reminder of her smashing star turn in the Encores! concert revival of GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES.

Morrison broke out his ukulele for the pair to duet a lovely Polynesian-style "Over The Rainbow."

In the week leading up to the concert, some of the publicity playfully suggested a competition between Hilty's "Smash" and Morrison's TV success, "Glee." But as Morrison reminded the audience, there's no competition, because when we can have television programs that use songs to advance plot and develop characters, everyone wins.

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