Megan Hilty’s daughter, Viola, is following in her musical footsteps and ready for close up at the young age of 11.
“My daughter has gotten the bug. She’s a singer. She’s got this amazing voice in this incredible ear,” Hilty, 45, exclusively told Us Weekly on Thursday, May 7, while promoting her upcoming Café Carlyle residency in New York City. “She can learn things really quickly.”
While the Broadway star, who was most recently in Death Becomes Her, said she supports both of her children no matter their dreams, she’s been trying to instill in Viola that music and theater aren’t the only things that exist.
“Me and my husband are trying to be, like, low key about it,” she confessed. “I’m trying to be like, ‘Well, you’ll get applause for being great at math too.’”
If Hilty’s daughter or son, Ronan, 9, whom she shares with husband Brian Gallagher, do decide to pursue a career in the arts, the Smash alum said she’d be totally on board.
“I’m not here to tell my kids what they’re supposed to be. You know, me and Brian’s jobs are to help them navigate and find their own path,” Hilty explained. “As long as they are passionate, I don’t care what they do. I just want them to deeply care about what it is that whatever, whatever they choose to do.”
The Tony Award nominee noted that for now, she’s just soaking in being Viola and Ronan’s mom — and not planning out what’s next for either of them.
“I feel like it’s just an honor to just watch humans grow,” Hilty told Us ahead of Mother’s Day. “They’re kind of hardwired to be who they are from the start. It feels like an honor to get to watch that and help that and foster whatever it is that that that they want to do with their life.”
The musician admitted that while raising two children is a reward in itself, it can be physically taxing.
“I’m also very tired because of it. I’ve been tested in ways that I never thought I would have been,” Hilty said with a laugh. “But like my husband said the other day, ‘It’s the most of everything.’ It’s the most joy. It is the most sadness. It is the most terrifying. It is the most, like, thrilling. You know, it’s just the most of everything. So I feel lucky that I get to do it.”
Outside of her favorite role as a mother, Hilty keeps herself busy with her own career aspirations. After wrapping up Death Becomes Her on Broadway last year, Hilty has been gearing up for her residency at Café Carlyle in New York City, which runs from June 16 through June 27.
“It feels like the quintessential New York experience,” Hilty told Us of seeing a show at Café Carlyle, a jazz restaurant/supper club located in The Carlyle Hotel. “This is the only one of the few places that has stood the test of time and is still, like, I don’t want to say, ‘Old School New York,’ because while I was there [recently], I was like, this is young and hip.”
When it comes to her residency, Hilty said attendees can expect her singing with her band, “which is not new,” but she teased, “I might have some guests that are a little unexpected. I’ve never really done that.”
“Half of the set is standard stuff that people who haven’t seen me there will expect to hear. And half of it is brand new,” Hilty added. “So it’s half new set, half Megan-Hilty standards, if there is such a thing.”
She also revealed that the shows will be documented as well. “I’m filming this and recording it. I don’t know what I’m going to do with it,” Hilty joked. “It’s going to be a special couple of weeks.”
Get your tickets for Hilty’s residency at Café Carlyle here.
