Megan Hilty with the New York Pops

Two of the biggest luminaries of musical theatre came together Thursday night, July 7, for a night under the stars on some enchanting evening to ransack the treasure troves of the American Songbook and sing them with the kind of freedom over which most theatre geeks would foam at the mouth. Live in living color, Megan Hilty and Matthew Morrison, special guests of conductor Stephen Reineke and the fabulous New York Pops, showed up at the Forest Hills Stadium in the Queens borough in typical savoir-faire and let it rip with an affair of big band bangers, torch song blues balladry, lounge jazz ditties and beloved contemporary Broadway show tunes that ended in a rousing standing ovation at the conclusion.

At the top of the show, Reineke -- an illustrious music director in his own right, with alliances of just about everyone on the Great White Way and symphony halls nationwide -- begin the concert with a sparkling instrumental of Kander & Ebb's 1977 classic "Theme from New York, New York" that fizzed like top-shelf champagne.

Best known for his Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated performance as high school teacher Will Schuester on "Glee," the cult Fox musical comedy series that aired its last season in 2015, Morrison, who recently appeared as J.M. Barrie in the musical adaptation of "Finding Neverland" on Broadway, began with a set of black-tie affair pop standards "Come Fly with Me," "The Lady is a Tramp," "As Long As She Needs Me," and a standout rendition of "On the Street Where You Live," invoking the spirits of Frank Sinatra, Steve Lawrence, Dean Martin and Perry Como as he blithely crooned through classics with effervescent schmaltz.

Most recognized for her portrayal of seasoned and ambitious triple-threat Ivy Lynn in NBC's cult musical drama "Smash," Hilty is fresh off receiving her first Tony Award nomination as Best Featured Actress in a Play for her outrageously hilarious performance of Brooke Ashton in the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of "Noises Off." Introduced by Reineke, the electric blonde singer came out to the stage in a hip-hugging, jaw-dropping cherry red rose-inspired gown.

Bringing aplomb to a rather serious format, the Broadway darling ripped and roared through a trio of trumpet-heavy ditties; "Luck Be A Lady," her "Smash" signature "They Just Keep Moving The Line" and the "Wicked" favorite, "Popular" (her first Broadway credit, in which she was a standby for four years, including the first national tour).

Coming together for a duet, Morrison and Hilty sang a beautifully arranged rendering of "The Wizard of Oz" staple, "Somewhere Over The Rainbow," with flourishes of E.Y. Harburg's original composition executed by the New York Pops and Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's Hawaii folk interpretation played by Morrison on ukulele. Morrison, who has played the song live in concert on numerous occasions and on his hit TV show, faced technical difficulties, however, when his ukulele (with Hilty's help, he named the instrument Kaya) failed to mount properly into an electrical outlet.

However, Morrison redeemed himself fairly rapidly, and the results were astonishing. Watching the bari-tenor showman hit his stride and in his element is like none other, there's a sudden realization that washes over the spectators: Why isn't this man the major lead musical actor working on Broadway? He's a triple-threat, he's good-looking, he's got charisma but is self-deprecating in a good way, and he's got a great head on his shoulders (as well as a great head of hair).

It also brought another uneasy thought as well: One should not envy the unlucky young man tapped to play Link Larkin, the teenage heartthrob and love interest of Tracy Turnblad, in the upcoming "Hairspray Live!" on NBC. Finishing Act I, Morrison performed a lively medley of the Civil Rights-inspired musical that included hits "Welcome to the Sixties," "Nicest Kids In Town," "Big, Blonde and Beautiful," "Without Love" and "You Can't Stop The Beat." Morrison, who originated the role on Broadway in 2001, aced the perky jive hand and swinging Motown groovy dance steps with top-notch precision and apt vocals.

After twenty minutes and an interlude of Duke Ellington's "Take the 'A' Train" by the symphony, Hilty hit the stage in a princess-cut midnight blue Cinderella-esque frock with diamonds. She charmed the crowd at first with a medley of "Almost Like Being in Love" and "This Can't Be Love," before bringing the arena to a near-deafening hush with a medley of "Autumn Leaves" and "When October Goes."

The New York Pops brought the energy back to with a buoyant delivery of Barry Manilow's "Copacabana," before Morrison returned to the stage to perform chestnuts "It's All Right with Me" and "Singin' in the Rain." While his charm may have recalled a cooler, sprightlier Tony Bennett, Morrison's fancy footwork recalled the likes of his personal superhero, matinee idol Gene Kelley, or dare one say it, traces of Sammy Davis, Jr.'s signature beatnik boogie. However, the crowd started to grow restless, and Morrison belted out a medley from "Finding Neverland," which included the overwrought but divo-ready "Stronger," which drew joyful noise.

Nevertheless, it was Hilty who brought down the house with a firebrand execution of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," a song for which she has become well known for after appearing in a short-lived revival of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" at New York City Center's "Encores" years ago. Appearing in a champagne nude gown with gold trimming, bronze and cr�me colored embroidery, the starlet sashayed on the stage with the right amount of va-va-voom the gem needed. Bringing the crowd to its feet, the spinto soprano with the dynamic metallic tinged belt and high octave middle register brought down the house with her hurricane sized vocals.

Just as the audience began to exit, however, the duo began to serenade the crowd with a thrilling duet of "Suddenly Seymour" from the cult doo-wop musical "Little Shop of Horrors," to which many of the audience karaoke'd along. In that moment, the crowd felt infinite, united, bound together... and one thing became very clear: Get Hilty and Morrison in shows that they deserve. For starters, cast Mrs. Hilty as the awe-shucks Audrey in a much-needed revival of "Little Shop of Horrors."

"The New York Pops w/ Matthew Morrison & Megan Hilty" ran through July 8 at Forest Hills Stadium, 1 Tennis Place in Queens, New York. For tickets or information, visit http://www.foresthillsstadium.com