Even though Megan Hilty starred in the Broadway hit “Death Becomes Her,” she found time to help kick off this year’s televised Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade on NBC. Now she’s joining an all-star cast for the network’s annual “Christmas in Rockefeller Center.”

When asked how she manages to juggle so many projects, Hilty smiles and answers: “Just barely.”

Hilty found little or no time to be a part of the holiday program scheduled to air on KGET on December 4 at 8 p.m. She joins Jennifer Hudson, Backstreet Boys, Dan + Shay, Coco Jones, Little Big Town, RAYE and Thalia in the all-star cast. The Radio City Rockettes will perform and Kelly Clarkson returns to host the two-hour holiday event.

NBC’s “Today” anchors Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Al Roker and Craig Melvin will once again attend the tree lighting for a special appearance.

Hilty won’t reveal what she will sing on the show.

“I have to say that they were very open to my suggestions and I was very happy with the result,” says Hilty. “I’m looking forward to singing these songs and singing them with my band, which consists of all my best friends and my husband Brian Gallagher.

“It will also be a very special evening for me personally.”

Although Hilty isn’t revealing what she’ll be playing on the TV show, she’s willing to talk about some of the Christmas songs she enjoys singing. Her favorites range from “The Christmas Song” to numbers from “The Muppet Christmas Carol” to the song “There’s Always Tomorrow” from the animated series “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

Stage success came quickly for Hilty. After graduating from Carnegie Mellon University with a bachelor’s degree in theater, she joined the Broadway company “Wicked” as Glinda’s replacement. After a year on Broadway, she continued with Wicked on tour and in the Los Angeles production in 2007-2009.

Hilty will always hold a special place for “Wicked” in her heart, having spent four and a half years of her life with the character Glinda. She is proud to be part of a production that leaves such a powerful and everlasting legacy for her. When asked if she would like to star in another stage production of Wicked, Hilty laughs and says she would now be better suited to the role of Madame Morrible than Glinda.

The Tony Award-nominated actress also enjoyed success on television with appearances in productions such as “Ugly Betty,” “Bones,” “The Good Wife,” “The Closer” and “Desperate Housewives.” She played Livy Lynn, an actress desperate to land the lead role in a musical about the life of Marilyn Monroe in the NBC musical drama “Smash.”

“Christmas in Rockefeller Center,” “Smash” and “Death Becomes Her” are all projects that connect Hilty to what she calls the NBC/Universal family. She highly praises the collaboration with the company and would star in another TV series again if asked.

When asked if it’s harder to perform the same Broadway show night after night or deal with the daily changes that come with a TV show, Hilty answers without hesitation that stage work is harder.

“The stage is a million times harder,” Hilty says. “When we do eight shows a week, you have to treat yourself like an athlete. You have to watch what you eat. You need to be careful about how you use your energy.

“You have to make sure your voice and your body are physically capable of doing it. Doing eight shows a week is a massive undertaking. One I’m happy to do for a great show like Death Becomes Her.”

The Rockefeller Christmas tree tradition dates back to 1931 during the Great Depression, but the first official tree lighting ceremony took place two years later. This year’s event celebrates the lighting of a 74-foot-tall, 43-foot-wide spruce tree that weighs approximately 11 tons. It will be decorated with more than 50,000 multi-colored LED lights and crowned with a three-dimensional Swarovski star.

After the tree leaves Rockefeller Center, it will be donated to Habitat for Humanity and processed into lumber used to build homes.

NBCUniversal will continue its partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation for the 16th consecutive year to support tree planting efforts in forests affected by natural disasters. This year, NBCUniversal will plant nearly 20,000 trees in the Apalachicola National Forest.

Viewers have the opportunity to donate to Red Nose Day, Comic Relief US’s fundraiser to end child poverty. Since 2015, Red Nose Day has raised more than $370 million and positively impacted the lives of over 35 million children in the United States and around the world.

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