She was well-known and respected as a Broadway stage actress and TV performer already, but the moment Megan Hilty appeared on NBC’s “Smash” as Ivy, crooning the Grammy Award-nominated “Let Me Be Your Star” alongside co-star Katharine McPhee, she became a legitimate star herself.

The show lasted one season, from 2012- 2013, but during that time Hilty sang many of her original songs, including “Let Me Be Your Star.” Her debut solo album, “It Happens All the Time,” was released last year and last month she announced she and her husband, musician Brian Gallagher, are expecting their first child.

So expect a lot of excitement when Hilty hits the stage at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre on May 10.

This performance marks her first official gig here. She visited Atlanta several years ago for a private event, but has not per- formed publicly in the city. As part of touring, she zips in and out of cities and doesn’t get a chance to see much, but she did get to tour the Georgia Aquarium when she was here before, and she remembers it vividly.

Before she began working on “Smash,” she drew attention for the role of Doralee Rhodes in Broadway’s “9 to 5: The Musical.” The musical wasn’t a major hit, but her performance was celebrated. It was an exciting project for her—and meeting Dolly Parton, who originated the role and helped produce the show and the music, was a particular thrill.

“At first it was terrifying, doing this role that Dolly Parton had made iconic,” says Hilty. “She’s an incredible woman. It’s truly an honor to get to work with her.”

Her Broadway debut in 2003 was also impressive. She took over from Kristen Chenoweth as Glinda in the popular and critically-acclaimed “Wicked.”

Yet “Smash” gave her more exposure than she’d ever had.

“It came up in pilot season like any other show and it seemed like something right up my alley,” Hilty says. The drama, about a Broadway-bound musical about the life of Marilyn Monroe, ran for two seasons and had an abundance of guest stars, including Bernadette Peters, who played Hilty’s character’s mother.

Last fall Hilty was in the cast of the short- lived NBC sitcom “Sean Saves the World” with Sean Hayes.

While in town Hilty will also be appearing at the Alliance Theatre’s “A Tony Evening” event after her concert. Rita Wilson, who was booked for the evening, had to cancel, so Hilty is doing double duty that night. She’s also doing a master class for students while in town, so her trip to Atlanta will be loaded.

Her repertoire for the Atlanta gig will “run the gamut.”

“I think it’s eclectic,” she says. “I do some numbers from ‘Smash’ as well as some Broad- way numbers and some old standards. I actually cover Bob Dylan too.” The performer is certainly aware that she has a number of LGBT fans be- cause of her support of LGBT issues and rights.

Filmwise, she will be heard in a few weeks as the China Princess in the animated “Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return,” which stars Lea Michele as Dorothy, and seen next year in the new Warren Beatty film about Howard Hughes.

Now that Hilty is doing stage, TV and film, she doesn’t have a particular favorite. “I like working,” she laughs, adding that secure jobs are never a given, but stage work still holds a special meaning.