By Claire DeMarco
Sierra Boggess has a musical theater resume a mile long. A few of those productions she has been involved with include “The Little Mermaid” (as Ariel), “The Phantom of the Opera” (as Christine), “Master Class,” and “It Shoulda Been You.” She traveled to Pittsburgh with a handful of those songs plus several stories near and dear to her.
Note: Although she never mentioned it, Andrew Lloyd Webber said that she has “one of the most sublime voices I have ever worked with.”
Since Sierra played Christine in “Phantom of the Opera”, she knew there were songs from that show that she MUST sing this evening. Her rendition of “Think of Me” was phenomenal. She sang several of the lines in French, teasingly telling the audience that “I sing it in French cause I learned it.” And a snippet in Japanese!
Many of the songs Sierra sang revolved around stories, especially those that were especially meaningful to her. Sierra was close to her grandparents. She read several excerpts from love letters her grandmother had written to her grandfather, who was serving in World War II. They were touching and humorous, delivered with love. Her exceptional renditions of “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” and “You’ll Never Know” were a tribute to her grandparents.
Sierra’s last musical was “Harmony,” a show that, unfortunately, didn’t last long on Broadway but held deep meaning for her. “Every Single Day” was a tribute to that show.
“How Could I Ever Know” was written by Lucy Simon for “The Secret Garden,” and a recording of Lucy’s voice was woven into Sierra’s version of that song as a beautiful memory of her friendship with Simon.
She’ll be off to London soon, involved in a project that brings her joy. Plans are underway to record some of the old masterpiece musicals like “Oklahoma”, “Guys and Dolls”, and “Carousel.” This endeavor is to preserve and record those musicals as they were intended to be heard. That involves having the full orchestra and the singers in the same room when recording.
Boggess is a natural entertainer. She has a lovely, powerful voice. She’s animated and has a natural rapport with the audience, often interacting with audience members. There is nothing artificial about her. With excellent comedic chops, it seemed natural to see this lovely entertainer make faces, laugh at herself, and tease the audience.
She enjoyed every moment of the evening, and so did we! Excellent piano accompaniment by Joseph Thalken.
The next performance in the 2025-2026 Trust Cabaret Season is on February 16, 2026, featuring Jessica Vosk.
-CED
The Trust Cabaret series is at the Greer Cabaret, 655 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. Learn more about the Cabaret series here.
