Broadway and West End Actress Sierra Boggess was Simply Stunning During Utah Valley University’s The Week of Dreams

By Christy Hudson

Utah Valley University welcomed Broadway and West End actress Sierra Boggess in a concert performance on Friday, March 29, 2019. The concert was held in the Noorda Center of the Performing Arts on their campus in Orem, Utah, as part of The Week of Dreams event.

The evening began with an actual masquerade ball in the foyer of the Noorda Center. Many of the attendees wore elaborate costumes that came straight out of other time periods, and yet most of the music played was from modern musicals. It was a lot of fun to see all the people dancing and having a good time.

The concert opened with a performance by the One Voice Children’s Choir, who I had never heard of before, but I am told they are quite popular, especially in Utah. They were remarkably talented and performed songs from The Greatest Showman, The Prince of Egypt, and Dear Evan Hansen, all of which featured soloists from some amazing young singers who were fervent in their performance

Sierra Boggess arrived onstage, opening the main event with “If I Were a Bell” from Guys and Dolls, a very cute, fun number. Her bright personality shined throughout the whole concert. For example, as she was sitting down on a stool and telling a story, she got distracted when she saw her shoes and exclaimed, “Aren’t my shoes cute?” She easily jumped from comedic numbers, to solemn or serious ones, which showed off her acting talent, in addition to her vocal talent.

Because she is probably best known for playing Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera, Boggess can’t really perform a concert without singing at least one song from the show. When she sang “Think of Me,” she did so in four different languages: “Las Vegas-style” (or how a pop singer might perform it in a Vegas show), Japanese, French, and English. It started out ridiculous and silly, and then became unbelievable as she flowed effortlessly between languages. And, of course, her beautiful soprano voice was flawless.

As Boggess made her Broadway debut playing Ariel in The Little Mermaid, she also just had to include “Part of Your World” in her performance. It’s no wonder why she got to play a Disney princess; she basically is a real-life one anyway. Hearing her sing that song live was incredible. She also performed a hilarious song from the new musical Ever After, based on the Drew Barrymore movie. It has not made it to Broadway yet (but keep your fingers crossed; it will be a good one). The song is called “Who Needs Love?” sung by her character Danielle de Barbarac, who is too busy to bother being in love. Boggess was simply hysterical.

Boggess was accompanied by her sister, Cellist Summer Boggess, and her brother-in-law, Pianist and Musical Director Brian Hertz. Those two instruments may have been an entire orchestra because they played so powerfully and beautifully. The fact that Sierra Boggess was performing with her family members seemed to make it an even more special experience for her. She shared some love letters she found that her grandmother had written to her grandfather during World War II, followed by a song dedicated to them, a medley of “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” by The Platters and “You’ll Never Know” from Hello, Frisco, Hello. During this number, she turned to sing to her sister, who then played back to her, making it a personal family moment, as they shared this celebratory song for their grandparents.

One of the best segments of the concert was when Boggess shared her story of being invited by Andrew Lloyd Webber to perform for the Queen of England on her birthday. She intercut her story with “If They Could See Me Now” from Sweet Charity to show how unreal the experience was for her, as she practiced how she would say “Your Majesty” to the Queen. The tale was like a train, going faster and faster as her excitement built. This story-telling was just another example of how hilarious and entertaining she was.

Her closing number was “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again,” from Phantom, beautiful and moving. She has sung that song hundreds of times, but she does so with such power; it’s so emotional and stunning. I would say it’s even a little tear-inducing. She followed with an encore of “Come to My Garden” from The Secret Garden, from a concert she took part in a couple years ago. Again, it was such a lovely and warm song, ending the concert on a high note (pun intended).

I was excited to have the chance to see Sierra Boggess in concert at Utah Valley University’s Noorda Center of the Performing Arts. She has been my favorite “Christine” since I first saw her sing the role in Phantom’s 25^th Anniversary Performance at Royal Albert Hall. I have also listened to her sing The Little Mermaid on the cast album countless times in the past twelve years, since its release. But Boggess’ personality and passion are what make me love her as a performer. She is talented onstage, and she is sweet and joyful off. One of the things that makes me admire her is that she clearly believes the mantra she has adopted for her life, one that she exemplifies and shares with all her fans: “You are enough, you are so enough, it’s unbelievable how enough you are!”

Utah Valley University Presents Sierra Boggess in Concert
March 29, 2019
The Noorda Center for the Performing Arts, Orem, Utah
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