By JESSICA NEU
Her pristine soprano made her the ideal Christine in Phantom of the Opera, and her fiery red hair made her the quintessential Ariel in Broadway’s The Little Mermaid. Powerhouse vocalist Sierra Boggess took the stage last night as part of the 2025-2026 Trust Cabaret Series.
Boggess has built an internationally successful career with credits ranging from Broadway to London’s West End. Here in Pittsburgh, accompanied by pianist Jospeh Thalken, she opened the show with “Home” from Phantom of the Opera. Her pitch-perfect soprano, operatic note at the number’s end proved that we were in for a night of unparalleled talent. But her commentary after that song hinted that we were also in store for some laughs and light-hearted banter, as if we had known Boggess for years. She coined the 9:30, late-night crowd “hardcore” and said we were there to “test the limits to see how late we can stay up listening to a soprano.” If anyone in the audience was tired, Boggess’ voice and contagious positive energy were both invigorating and soul-refreshing.
Boggess explained that, when doing solo shows, she quickly learned which songs she had to sing to avoid a riot. One of those songs is “Think of Me,” also from Phantom. Boggess questioned if the recent Wicked craze made the Phantom love go away.” Based on audience feedback, Phantom of the Opera is, and will always be, a beloved classic. Boggess delighted audiences by dividing the song into quarters and singing in 4 different languages. The first was English, but in the style of a Las Vegas residency performance to honor her role in the 2006 Las Vegas production. The second was Japanese as a tribute to Boggess’ participation in a concert called “4 Stars.” The event took place in Japan in 2013, where Boggess sang “Think of Me.” The third was French to commemorate what never was. Boggess was slated to travel to Paris to star in the first French production of Phantom, but the theater burned down, and the show never came to fruition.
Boggess concluded the performance in English, reflecting on her time as Christine in both America and London. Boggess delivered her best Britney Spears impression for the Vegas portion before delving into fluent Japanese and French, both as seemingly effortless as her English.
After “Think of Me,” Boggess explained that “everything going on in the world makes feels like a grab bag everyday.” She equated this underlying sentiment of not knowing what will happen at any given moment to a Sondheim song written for three parts that only one person will sing. Boggess then launched into “You Could Drive a Person Crazy” from Sondheim’s Company.
Boggess also discussed her time in the short-lived musical Harmony, where she had the opportunity to play opposite Chip Zien. Boggess beautifully delivered the piece “Every Single Day,” then again reminded audiences that the world is crazy right now and that we cannot be the light.
While Boggess is clearly in a vocal category of her own, she is also a dynamic storyteller. Boggess engaged the audience with a story about how she felt inspired to reflect on her childhood and revisit old songs. In talking with Thalken, she discovered that they shared a love for a 1970s made-for-TV musical of Tom Sawyer. The song “If’n I was God” talks about the idea of adults being able to go back in time to unlearn things and regain innocence. I am not sure if it was Boggess’ delivery, the song’s lyrics, that particular moment, or a combination of all three that sent a few tears into my glass of Tempranillo. Glancing around the room, I was not the only one deeply moved by Boggess’ performance.
She lightened the mood with a poignant story about cleaning out her grandparents’ attic and finding letters they had written to one another while her grandfather was fighting in WWII. The letters, dated 1944, conveyed her grandmother’s unyielding love for her new husband and expressed her anticipation of his return home from war. After the poignant moment, Boggess transitioned into The Platters’ “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.” She noted that her grandmother had dementia, but one day Boggess sat down at the piano and started playing “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” and her grandmother remembered every lyric.
Adding to her storytelling repertoire, Boggess delighted audiences with a story about her time spent with the composer of The Secret Garden, Lucy Simon. She explained how, before her death, Simon asked Boggess to “carry her voice onward.” Boggess vowed to uphold Simon’s wishes and surprised audiences by playing Simon’s original demo of “How Could I Ever Know” from The Secret Garden, circa mid-1980s. Boggess sat peacefully as the demo played and seamlessly segued into singing toward the end of the number.
After a spellbinding performance of “Help Me Say Goodbye” from Phantom of the Opera, Boggess concluded the evening with a beautiful quote from Ram Dass about the power of humanity.
“When you go out into the woods, and you look at trees, you see all these different trees. And some of them are bent, and some of them are straight, and some of them are evergreens, and some of them are whatever. And you look at the tree and you allow it. You see why it is the way it is. You understand that it didn’t get enough light, and so it turned that way. And you don’t get all emotional about it. You just allow it. You appreciate the tree.
The minute you get near humans, you lose all that. And you are constantly saying, ‘You are too this, or I’m too this.’ That judgment mind comes in. And so I practice turning people into trees. Which means appreciating them just the way they are.”
After her words hung in the air for a brief moment, Boggess delivered a mesmerizing rendition of Sondheim’s “No One is Alone” to close out the night. Her captivating stage presence, quick-witted humor, extemporaneous anecdotes, and, of course, stellar vocals made for an unforgettable evening that was absolutely “hardcore.”
Next up in the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Cabaret Series
Jessica Vosk on Monday, February 16, 2026 at Greer Cabaret Theater. A celebrated singer & actress, Jessica Vosk’s talents are on display in her eclectic mix of musical theater visionaries, timeless singer-songwriters, pop stunners, and more. Best known for her star turn as Elphaba in Wicked, Vosk has sold out Carnegie Hall and delights audiences with her singular flavor of talent, sincerity, humor, and “powerhouse and pristine vocals” (Playbill).
Tickets at: https://trustarts.org/production/101832/list_performances
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