You might not know her name, but you likely recognize Megan Hilty. She starred as Galinda in the musical Wicked both on Broadway and on tour. Later, she played the perky blond foil to Katharine McPhee's stormy brunette in the highly acclaimed but relatively short-lived musical television series Smash. In her latest TV role, NBC's comedy Sean Saves the World, she plays Sean's best friend and co-worker, Liz.
Starting Friday, Hilty shares the stage with the Houston Symphony in Luck Be A Lady. Co-starring actor/singer Aaron Lazar, Luck features recognizable melodies by Cole Porter, Harold Arlen and other American Songbook tunes made famous by such artists as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James and Dolly Parton. Hilty should be especially comfortable with the Parton tunes included here: in the 2008 Los Angeles run of the stage show 9 to 5: The Musical, she played Doralee Rhodes, Parton's character in the popular film.
See Luck be a Lady at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, 615 Louisiana. For information, call 713-224-7575 or visit houstonsymphony.org. $29 to $126.
MECA's stage becomes the Thunderdome during the Bayou City Poetry Grand Slam on Saturday as poets from across the nation compete for bragging rights and a $1,000 prize. Three rounds are done tournament-style with Olympic-style judging. The top three poets in the final round win the prizes. The purse has attracted Ed Mabrey from Charlotte, North Carolina, a three-time winner of the Individual World Poetry Slam (IWPS), who recently performed on TV1's Verses & Flow; IWPS champion Rudy Francisco of San Diego; and Theresa Davis from Atlanta, a Women of the World Poetry Slam Champion. "Poetry Slam is competitive performance poetry," said the event's organizer, Savannah Blue. "Poets are competing, and the competition has a way of actually encouraging better writing. The poets aren't just reading, they're performing, which generates intense emotions."
The Slam starts at 7 p.m. MECA, 1900 Kane Street. For information, call 713-802-9370 or visit MECA's website. $10 to $15.
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