Sierra Boggess (May 20, 1982) was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, with her two sisters, Summer and Allegra. The three of them were members of the Colorado Children’s Chorale. Her parents are Kellun Turner and Michael Boggess. She attended George Washington High School and graduated from Millikin University with a BFA in musical theater.
Boggess began her career in the Ensemble and as an understudy for Cosette on the U.S. national tour of Les Misérables. She also played the roles of Binky and Ram Dass in the musical Princesses. Her previous work includes West Side Story (Maria), The Pirates of Penzance (Mabel), Sweet Charity (Charity) and The Boy Friend (Polly).
Around the time she was still doing “Les Misérables”, Boggess was cast in the brand new Las Vegas production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera at the Venetian Resort and Casino. The production opened on June 24, 2006. Boggess starred in the female leading role of Christine Daaé co-starring Anthony Crivello and Brent Barrett alternating as The Phantom. She stayed with the Vegas production for a year.
Boggess was then cast in her Broadway debut originating the role of Ariel in the 2007 The Little Mermaid. She performed with the show in its pre-Broadway tryout in Denver at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts’ Ellie Caulkins Opera House which it ran from July 26, 2007 through September 9, 2007. The Broadway production began previews on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on November 3, 2007. The show was then temporarily shut down on November 10, 2007 until November 28, 2007, due to the 2007 Broadway stagehand strike. Performances resumed the next day following the strike and the official opening night was pushed from December 6, 2007 to January 10, 2008. Boggess received positive reviews for her performance. She stayed with the show for a year and a half playing her final performance as Ariel on May 31, 2009. Boggess was replaced by understudy Chelsea Morgan Stock.
While she was still doing The Little Mermaid, Boggess starred opposite Kristin Chenoweth in the Encores! production of Music in the Air.
From February 2010 to March 2011, Boggess starred as Christine Daaé in the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, Love Never Dies. She also took part in the Rodgers and Hammerstein Prom at the Royal Albert Hall on 22 August 2010 which was screened on 28th. After leaving Love Never Dies being replaced by Celia Graham, Boggess played Sharon, alongside Tyne Daly, in the Broadway revival of Master Class, beginning on June 14, 2011. The show concluded its limited engagement on September 4, 2011.
Boggess once again played the role of Christine Daaé in the 25th anniversary concert of The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall in London with Love Never Dies co-star Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom at the Royal Albert Hall on 1st and 2 October 2011.
Boggess starred in the Off-Broadway show, Love, Loss, and What I Wore from February 29, 2012 till the show’s closure on March 25, 2012.
In April 2012, Boggess announced that she dropped out of Rebecca and instead joined the cast of the upcoming musical revue Prince of Broadway which pays tribute to director Harold Prince. However, the project was postponed until 2013. On July 2, 2012, Boggess returned to Les Misérables until 10 January 2013. This time she joined the West End company at the Queen’s Theatre and took over the role of Fantine.
On January 21, 2013, Boggess returned to the role of Christine in The Phantom of the Opera for the Broadway production’s 25th anniversary and co-starred opposite Hugh Panaro as The Phantom. She performed the role for a limited six-week engagement till March 2, 2013.
Following her run, Boggess began teaching various musical theater master classes and began to workshop an upcoming musical adaptation of the 1998 film Ever After. However, Boggess was not part of the new musical’s world premiere at Papermill Playhouse in 2015. She also made her cabaret debut with a solo show entitled Awakening at New York’s 54 Below. The 54 Below shows were recorded for a live debut solo album Awakening: Live at 54 Below, which was released on December 10, 2013 from Broadway Records.
In January 2014 Boggess played the role of a lesbian in the short film Russian Broadway Shut Down (protesting the Russian government’s response to homosexuality in theater)
On March 24, 2014, it was announced that Boggess would once again rejoin the Broadway company of The Phantom of the Opera as Christine and reunite with her former Little Mermaid co-star Norm Lewis as the Phantom (who made history as the first African-American actor to play the title role in the Broadway cast). They began their runs on May 12, 2014. Boggess concluded her run as Christine on September 6, 2014.
After completing her run in Phantom of the Opera with Norm Lewis, Boggess returned to her alma mater Millikin University to perform a benefit concert featuring the Class of 2015 BFA Musical Theatre majors. It was based on her Awakening concert at 54 Below, and was held to help raise money for the school’s new Theatre & Dance building.
Boggess originated the role of Rebecca Steinberg in the 2015 Broadway production of It Shoulda Been You at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. The musical — which also starred Boggess’ former Master Class co-star Tyne Daly — featured direction by David Hyde Pierce. The show began preview performances on March 17, opened on April 14, and closed on August 9, 2015 .
Boggess is currently performing the role of school principal Rosalie Mullins in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical adaptation of School of Rock at the Winter Garden Theatre. The production began previews on November 9, 2015, and opened on December 6.
In February 2016, she will reunite with Ramin Karimloo in the Manhattan Concert Productions’ staging of The Secret Garden in which she will sing the role of Lily.
[RMPBS is presenting a show this week featuring Ms. Boggess.]