Opening night of the musical stage version of the 1980 film 9 to 5, actress Megan Hilty, who is playing “Doralee Rhodes,” likely engaged in what has become a Broadway ritual for her.

“Opening night, I’m usually too nervous to do anything. So I just kind of eat everything in sight, and then I am really uncomfortable in my clothes, and that’s all I can think about,” she said, laughing.

Hilty need not worry she won’t fit the bill (or into her character’s clothing), because come March 24, 2009, the musical, which opened on Sept. 9 at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, will be headed to Hilty’s old stomping grounds: Broadway.

Making her Broadway debut in Wicked, and having the dubious distinction of being the third actress to play “Glinda” (after Kristin Chenoweth and Jennifer Laura Thompson), left the actress fearing the audition process.

“It was the most terrifying thing in the whole world, because I had literally auditioned for it two days before I graduated from college,” Hilty said.

Rather than having her college friends become green with envy at the prospect of their schoolmate being Broadway bound in the high-profile show, Hilty found a groundswell of support.

“Everybody had been going to New York, and saying, ‘Megan you need to see this show, you’re totally going to be in this show after school – this role was written for you. The only problem is you are going to be painted green everyday.’ Because those were the kind of roles I did in college, nobody really knew I had a soprano voice,” she said.

But there was someone outside of her Carnegie Mellon School of Drama family who also noticed a quality about Hilty, which led him to believe she could easily defy gravity on stage.

Wicked’s casting director, Bernie Telsey, initially hired Hilty to be in the touring company of Little Shop of Horrors, until a last-minute phone call from him had Hilty watching Wicked a day prior to her audition.

“I remember sitting there after the show – I was fifth row center – and saw the original company – it was only eight months into the run,” Hilty said. “And I thought nobody could do that after Kristen Chenoweth; she’s such an amazing and unique, charismatic performer.”

And that left Hilty with a dilemma – how best to take an established role and make it her own?

“And I was sitting there going, ‘Well what the hell am I going to do tomorrow on the audition?’ I was kind of panicking, and the only thing I can do to make them feel like they haven’t wasted their time or their money is to make them laugh in one or two spots.”

And that tactic worked like a charm. Hilty was at first the standby for Thompson, before taking over the role for a one-year stint, beginning in 2005. After that, she made three whistle stops with the national touring company of the show, before returning to the Land of Oz full-time again with the 2007 Los Angeles production.

“For a long time I tried to copy Kristin’s performance or Jennifer’s performance,” Hilty said of her time spent as Glinda. “And it just didn’t work. Luckily, this was all in rehearsals. And finally I just sat down with my script and said the only way I was going to be able to do this is to approach it like any other script that I did in college – and come up with something by myself.”

And seeing as 9 to 5 marks the second time she is facing stepping into the shoes of a previously well-known character, the delightful 27-year-old Hilty is taking it in stride, while treading with respect on the film’s legacy.

“With Wicked comes a huge expectation, as 9 to 5 will, and both roles are known to hit certain marks,” she said. “And there are very high expectations for that, so it was difficult to try and touch on those expectations, but still make it my own. Try doing it with someone who is a living legend!”

The living legend of which Hilty speaks is Dolly Parton, who has penned 20 new songs (plus incorporating the film’s theme song into the harmonious production) for 9 to 5: The Musical. As an added bonus, Patricia Resnick, who wrote the screenplay for the film has done the book for the musical.

While Hilty said the daunting aspect of having Parton so involved in the project is “the understatement of the year,” she is very thankful to have the iconic singer nearby.

“Really the minute you meet Dolly Parton – I don’t know how best to describe her, other than she is the most genuinely kind person I’ve ever met,” Hilty said. “And she’s been so supportive. Everybody always asks me what pointers she’s been giving me; she doesn’t do that at all. Even when I’ve asked her about tips and stuff – she’s like, ‘You’ve got it, you’ve got it, you’re fine!’”

The musical follows the 1980 film in which three office workers played by Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, and Dolly Parton, get a chance to give their “sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot” of a boss his comeuppance.

This time out, Allison Janney is Tomlin’s character, “Violet Newstead”; Stephanie J. Block is Fonda’s “Judy Bernly”; and Hilty is “Doralee Rhodes” – the object of unrequited sexual advances made by boss man “Franklin M. Hart,” played by Marc Kudish.

Hilty described the chemistry between the actors as an “Oh. My. God!” type of collaboration, and “everybody’s incredibly talented, but also really nice. This show has been created in such positive energy.”

She also sees why the story holds such resonance, some 28 years later, and the reasons it has such a wide appeal.

“It’s everybody’s movie,” Hilty said. “Everyone keeps saying it’s a feminist piece – oh the women that come to see it are going to like this so much, and the gay men are going to like it so much. It’s a show for anybody that’s been treated unfairly.”

Hilty sees striking similarities between Wicked and 9 to 5, in particular, a healthy dose of female empowerment.

“I feel particularly blessed to be in two big musicals that have such strong female characters, that don’t need a love interest,” Hilty said. “I don’t know why I’ve been so lucky to get two such great developed characters – that doesn’t come along a lot, especially in musical theater; there’s a lot of caricatures in musical theater.

“In the little career that I’ve had, I’ve been fortunate enough to have such amazingly written female roles. And, I love that both of them have a message about treating people with dignity and respect, no matter who they are; and both of these stories have such a strong message of treating people fairly, and I love being a part of that.”

And with a certain segment of the theater going populace (gay men), who will no doubt be enthralled with the musical, is Hilty prepared for an even bigger gay following after 9 to 5?

“Oh gosh, I hope I win everyone’s approval,” Hilty said. “I don’t want to put the cart before the horse, and expect everybody to fall in love with me, just because I am playing Dolly’s role. It could go the other way, I’m fully aware of that.”