Fresh Face: Megan Hilty

Age: 24

Currently: Making her Broadway debut as the popular Glinda nee Galinda in the mega-smash musical Wicked at the Gershwin Theater.

Hometown: Bellevue, Washington. “I wanted to be a singer, an opera singer,” Hilty says. “Well, actually, first I wanted to be Whitney Houston!” A teacher steered Hilty in a more legit direction though she did recently catch an episode of Being Bobby Brown to catch up with her first idol and after that she was on her way. Performing arts high school and Carnegie Mellon followed.

I'm Not That Girl: Hilty flew in to audition for Wicked a week prior to her college graduation, seeing the show the night before she went in front of the show's team. “I just thought after seeing it, ‘Wow—no one is going to be able to take over for [original Glinda] Kristin [Chenoweth], least of all me.' So, going into the audition, that must have been some sort of confidence builder. I never thought it would be me, so I had no nerves.”

Thank Goodness: After graduation, Hilty moved to New York, even though she was jobless at the time. She was on a Greyhound bus back to Pittsburgh to sell her car when her agent called with the big news she had landed a standby slot in Wicked. “I couldn't believe it! I was yelling at everyone around me! They were all confused—‘What? A Broadway show? What is that?'”

The Sincerest Form of Flattery: “Who wouldn't want to have a performance like Kristin or Jennifer [Laura Thompson, Broadway's second Glinda]? At one point, during rehearsals, I was mimicking everything Jennifer did. They were just like, ‘We want you to do your own thing—stop watching the show!' But I still stole some of it—the parts that work for me!”

Glinda the Good?: Hilty handles the complexity of her character—who can easily come off as either too bubbly or too bitchy—by playing her with intelligence. “She knows what she is doing at all points,” she states. “She is not ditsy like people think. She knows what is going on and what she wants. That is what I try to bring to her.”

Golden Moments: Hilty took over the role of Glinda on May 31, the same day Emmy winner Rue McClanahan and Tony winner Ben Vereen stepped into the show. While she had already been part of the company for months, Hilty was still nervous that first day of rehearsals with her new costars. After all—she was getting to know legends! “I was a huge Golden Girls fan—I have seen every episode,” Hilty laughs. “And it's so cool that I am out there with her, then I return home and she is on TV. It's Blanche Morrible out there! It's totally that.”

Wonderful: One side perk that comes with her job as the good witch of Wicked is the adoration of the show's passionate fans—the stage door is always crammed with fans, wanting a signature or delivering a gift. “They are great,” Hilty gushes. “I have gotten loads of nice gifts, a lot of them homemade. People have given me Glinda bears, homemade wands… I never would have thought to do that stuff myself, but, it's great. It's overwhelming but so amazing. There is also this one generous woman who gave gifts to Kristin and then Jennifer Laura Thompson, so, out of default I am getting them too.”

Dear Old Gotham: With the exposure Hilty is gaining from her time in Wicked, it's natural that Hollywood will come calling at some point. But don't think the theater world is losing her anytime soon. “My agency is bi-coastal, so they keep wanting me to go there, but, I love it here,” she says. “I love singing in that bubble—it's a dream come true. I went out to LA for a week for a school showcase. After a few days, I was just like, ‘Is anyone out here real?' I love New York. Everyone here is great, especially at the theater. We're all a family. And I live in Queens, so, I get to go into Manhattan and have fun and then I return to a quiet place. So I'm happy.”