Sierra Boggess

Harmony

November 17, 2023

The musical "Harmony," the lovechild of pop music greats Barry Manilow (music) and Bruce Sussman (lyrics and book), has opened at a time when anti-Semitism has peaked once again and lessons to the contrary are in short supply. Harmony’s dive into Nazi era anti-Semitism, though, may fall on deaf ears, but Harmony is also very much an entertainment, not a message show. Certainly, Manilow and Sussman couldn’t have predicted the “perfect timing” of this staging, the last in a long line of productions, most recently at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in April, 2022. The current iteration is basically that production with most of the cast intact and a classier, mirrored set by Beowulf Boritt. [more]

Harmony

April 18, 2022

Although 25 years have gone by since "Harmony" first tried out at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, the Barry Manilow/Bruce Sussman musical about the Comedian Harmonists is still relevant and timely. This historical musical based on true events which took place mainly in Germany from 1927- 1935 is a necessary reminder of the rise of Nazism and the naïve people who thought it would blow over. Produced by the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, "Harmony" could not be in a more fitting setting to tell this story. Directed and choreographed by Warren Carlyle, the musical has been given a big Broadway-style production for its first New York appearance starring Chip Zien and Sierra Boggess as well as a cast of featured players. [more]

School of Rock – The Musical

December 31, 2015

Though the stage show does not have the imitable and irrepressible Jack Black, it does have rising stars Alex Brightman and Sierra Boggess who make the roles of hero Dewey Finn and Principal Rosalie Mullins their own. The book by Julian Fellows (television’s "Downton Abbey" and the stage version of" Mary Poppins") based on the screenplay by Mike White is extremely faithful to the movie while also giving several of the students’ backstories which makes them more three-dimensional. Before the show begins, we are told by a voice-over (Webber?) that all of the students play their own instruments. [more]

The New York Pops: “My Favorite Things: The Songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein”

October 15, 2015

The New York Pops’ 33rd season opened with a joyful tribute to one of the legendary songwriting teams of Broadway. Entitled “My Favorite Things: The Songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein,” the evening featured guest artists American soprano Sierra Boggess and British baritone Julian Overden, along with Judith Clurman’s Essential Voices USA. All proved to have an affinity for this music which was greeted rapturously by the sold-out audience. [more]

It Shoulda Been You

May 3, 2015

"It Shoulda Been You" is the new musical by Brian Hargrove (book and lyrics) and Barbara Anselmi (music) and marks the Broadway directing debut of Broadway veteran David Hyde Pierce. The theme is a wedding. Nothing new about that. The two families are of two religions. Nothing new about that, either. What sets "Shoulda" apart are its hilariously surprising twists and the perfectly hewn comic turns by a cast headed by three brilliant ladies: Lisa Howard, Tyne Daly and Harriet Harris, each adroit comic actors. [more]