Megan Hilty, the Broadway and television star best known for playing Glinda in Wicked and Ivy Lynn on NBC's Smash, is set to perform a concert at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert on Sunday, October 25 at 2 p.m. The show brings together songs, stories and behind-the-scenes memories from across her career, with her husband and longtime guitarist Brian Gallagher among the musicians rounding out her band.
The date and time are confirmed on the McCallum Theatre's own event listing, and the venue's 2026-27 show sponsorship schedule likewise lists Hilty for the 2 p.m. Sunday slot, according to a document posted on mccallumtheatre.org. As NBC Palm Springs first reported, tickets are available through the McCallum Theatre.
From Bellevue Stages to Broadway's Emerald City
Hilty was born in Bellevue, Washington, on March 29, 1981, and graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in theatre, per the McCallum Theatre's biography of the performer. She joined the Broadway company of Wicked shortly after graduating, making her debut as Glinda's standby before taking over the role full-time in May 2005, the same biography notes. Hilty went on to play Glinda in the touring production and in the 2007-2009 Los Angeles run, and she has said she spent four and a half years total in the role, according to a separate interview published by Playbill.
In 2009, Hilty starred on Broadway as Doralee in 9 to 5: The Musical, taking on the role originally made famous by Dolly Parton on film. She later headlined NBC's Smash as Ivy Lynn for two seasons, from 2012 to 2013, a run that Variety describes as part of the arc that built her into a Broadway and television name. Her performance in a 2015-16 revival of Noises Off earned her a 2016 Tony Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play, the McCallum biography states.
A Concert Built Around Songs, Stories and Close Friends
Hilty has said concerts rank among her favorite parts of the job, telling interviewers she gets to choose songs she loves and perform them with a band of close friends. She has also said she hopes audiences leave feeling like they know her personally, beyond the characters she has played onstage and on screen.
That format echoes a solo concert Hilty gave at New York City's Appel Room as part of the Live From Lincoln Center Stars in Concert series, where she performed songs from 9 to 5, Wicked, Smash and more, according to Playbill's account of that show. Her band for that performance also included Brian Gallagher on guitar, the outlet reported, the same arrangement expected for the Palm Desert date.
Beyond Wicked: A Career Still in Motion
Hilty's stage résumé extends into recent years as well. Variety's interview with the performer touches on her return to Broadway in Death Becomes Her, where she appeared as Madeline alongside Jennifer Simard. IBDB additionally lists Hilty as the original Madeline Ashton in It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, with a run spanning October 23, 2024, through January 11, 2026.
Off the stage, Hilty and Gallagher have two children and live in Los Angeles, according to the McCallum Theatre's biography. The venue describes her as maintaining an active concert schedule that includes symphony performances alongside solo shows at smaller venues like the one Palm Desert audiences will see this Sunday.
