Review: SIERRA BOGGESS Heals Through Art at 54 Below

The categorically charming Sierra Boggess spent a few nights last week at 54 Below enchanting audiences with her eponymous cabaret show, and there is ongoing proof positive of her endearing and enduring allure as a performer and a person.  The oft-employed and in-demand actress of both musical theater and straight plays, of both Broadway and the West End, has earned her place in the business and in the hearts of fans through exquisite work as a performing artist but also by being completely and totally genuine and accessible from her place in the spotlight during cabarets and concerts like this one.  While some cabaret shows have a title, Ms. Boggess opts for simply using her name to announce her act, and rightly so, since it is a show about her life, her family, her experiences on both sides of the pond, and, it has to be said, some of the most significant of those experiences happened on the other side, like, for example, an audience with The Queen of England in Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s castle.  Broadway is grand and we’ve had the pleasure of her company repeatedly on The Great White Way, but to hear the deliciously cheeky Sierra tell the stories of that particular evening, in person, is a draw that should bring audiences back time and time again.  In fact, from start to finish, all of the Sierra Boggess show was of such quality as to put it on a list for repeat visits.  There are some performers that you just take it for granted you are going to see, whenever they play.  Sierra Boggess is, safely, one of them.

Observe, for instance, the adorable way that Ms. Boggess playfully protests the plethora of words in “The Lusty Month of May,” even while in the middle of singing the song.  Laugh along with her when she mentions the folly of turning “You Could Drive a Person Crazy” from a composition for three into a solo number.  And feel the smile of understanding when she brings right into the living room the fact that there WILL be songs from Phantom because, when there aren’t, rioting occurs.  Sierra Boggess is a very funny girl, prone to what my friend, Dorian Woodruff, calls “taking the piss out” of herself.  She does this with her tongue planted firmly in cheek, and always with a knowing wink to the audience (especially when she almost slips and drops a four-letter-word but catches herself), and that is a part of her enormous appeal.  Nothing is more engaging in a cabaret and concert star than when they are willing to drop the veil and let their audience know them, something at which Sierra Boggess excels.  A major contributing factor to the dropping of the veil is a segment of her show that incorporates her own kin.

In a brilliant bit of cabaret creation, Sierra Boggess has taken the wartime love letters of her grandparents and turned them into a chapter of her club act.  She has compiled passages from a few select letters and printed them out on a couple of pages, pages that she reads to the audience to illustrate not only the depth of their commitment to one another, but the (plainly apparent) love and (somewhat salacious) attraction they had for each other, as well as the lost art of letter writing.  Naturally, the spoken portion of the concert is accompanied by appropriate musical selections of the era like “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” and “You’ll Never Know” and to hear these songs sung by so pure and pristine a voice is, indeed, a treat.   In fact, speaking vocally, there was not one moment of the Boggess show that could be critiqued.

Now, on the subject of Sierra’s voice, I have a confession to make, and it’s a little shameful.  I did not grow up listening to sopranos (except for Julie Andrews because Julie Andrews).  I tended toward the belters (you know the ones), and even in my twenties I could be heard to say that I did not care for the sound of The Soprano.  It took me years to come to appreciate the late, great Barbara Cook, but thank goodness I finally came to the party.  What finally did it for me was the foolproof one-two punch of Marin Mazzie and Rebecca Luker, and I can happily and proudly report that, for me, the sound of the soprano voice is now a little slice of heaven on earth, and that can be especially said of Sierra Boggess.  For the entirety of her show, everything she sang, from the classically perfect “Mister Snow” to the very interesting “If N’ I Was God” (from the movie musical Tom Sawyer) was like warm honey on a sunny day, beautiful and blissful, full of richness, tone, and texture, and well worth the price of a ticket and a trip out of the house.  There is no avoiding saying, though, that there was particular pleasure, special significance, in the section of the show that paid tribute to Lucy Simon, creator of The Secret Garden, and, by association, Rebecca Luker.  Marrying a recording of Simon, herself, with her own live vocals, Sierra’s presentation of “How Could I Ever Know” and “Come To My Garden” was breathtaking, beautiful, and even a little heartbreaking.  It was a touching moment that makes a person wish for a Broadway revival of the beloved show, hopefully with Boggess leading the charge as Lily.  The mind reels with possibilities.  

More than once during her musical cabaret, Sierra Boggess mentioned the times in which we live, the stress of world affairs, the group therapy nature of absorbing art, and the fact that “we need this now,” in reference to nights out in New York, taking in art with like-minded people.  Her May 9th audience could be seen nodding in agreement, could be heard murmuring their approval of the sentiments.  It is true that we need this kind of group healing now, and thank goodness there are clubs all over New York City and (one hopes) this country where artists can bring people together for group therapy, and thank goodness there are therapists of the thespianic persuasion like Sierra Boggess to conduct the sessions.  This session was one of the good ones.  The next time Doctor Sierra is in a club near you, grab a seat and get some good group therapy; it will feed your soul and make you smile with the magic of musical medicine and the power of absolute authenticity.  

Find great shows on the 54 Below website HERE.

Visit the Sierra Boggess website HERE,

Sierra Boggess was aided, masterfully, by Musical Director Joseph Thalken, who made one piano sound like a four-piece combo.

Photos by Stephen Mosher

To post a comment, you must register and login.