The Forest Hills Stadium may have been rained on earlier in the day (audience members were asked to relinquish their umbrellas at the door) but it stayed dry for a concert featuring the New York Pops, the city’s only symphonic orchestra that specializes in popular music, with guest artists Matthew Morrison (“Glee”) and Megan Hilty (“Smash”). Performing at their summer home in Forest Hills, Queens and led by enthusiastic Music Director and Conductor Steven Reineke, the Pops entertained with an evening of classic pop tunes and Broadway hits.
Matthew Morrison, busting into a soft shoe every so often, had great stage presence as he sang hits by Frank Sinatra (“Come Fly with Me” and “The Lady is a Tramp”), Broadway show tunes (“On the Street Where You Live” from My Fair Lady, a narrated medley from Hairspray, and another medley from his most recent show, Finding Neverland), and one of my personal favorites, “Singin’ in the Rain,” which he thankfully did not have to literally do despite using an umbrella as a prop (Morrison was perhaps the only person allowed an umbrella inside the stadium).
Megan Hilty charmed the stadium with her full and clear voice, and three stunning dress changes. Her gender-reversal on “Luck Be A Lady” from Guys and Dolls showcased her range. She also sang the sultry “They Just Keep Moving the Line” from her television series “Smash.” This was followed by “Popular” from the Broadway show Wicked, for which Hilty performed the role of Glinda. The second act saw her singing “Almost Like Being in Love / This Can’t Be Love” and a show stopping “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” from the classic Marilyn Monroe vehicle, Gentlemen Prefer Blonds, another role Hilty has performed.
The adorable banter between Morrison and Hilty marked their friendship and years of “competition” between their two musical television series. Although they are both talented solo entertainers, they were at their best when dueting, which wasn’t nearly enough. The only song on the program that they performed together was a sweet “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” which Morrison was supposed to accompany on ukulele before the sound malfunctioned. But it was during an encore performance of “Suddenly Seymour” from Little Shop of Horrors that they brought chills to the audience and solidified a longing for more collaboration between these two stars.
Even the rain couldn’t have ruined one of the best orchestras in the city along with two of Broadway’s top performers. The New York Pops, Matthew Morrison, and Megan Hilty are a force to be reckoned with, and the Forest Hills Stadium was lucky enough to hear them all together.
