Sandra Bogan was making what she described as “a pretty good living” singing at retirement centers until the pandemic struck. Nowadays, the Wilmette resident has had to put that activity and other planned in-person performances on hold, but she hasn’t stopped singing. Each month, Bogan presents a virtual themed concert via Facebook, accompanied by pianist and composer Ron Hill.
Her first virtual show in June was “Sandra Sings Sondheim.” “I tried to pick rare songs of his that aren’t always sung,” Bogan noted. “It was a little bit of history of Sondheim but also a lot of comedy.”
The July selection was “Sandra Sings Great American Love Songs.” “I tried to pick unusual love songs,” she said.
At press-time, Bogan and Hill were still planning their August show. She will share details on her Facebook page.
“We’d like to do it every month. We got a lot of feedback from people,” Bogan reported. “I was surprised, we got 514 views. It wasn’t just friends watching.”
The Glenview native performed in plays at Glenbrook South High School before attending the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama. While in college, she did summer stock one year.
After college, she searched for performing opportunities. “I sat in my parents’ den in Glenview and went through the papers and called every theater and asked who was having auditions,” Bogan related. Turns out that Second City was.
“I went, not really knowing what I was doing, because I had only been there once in high school with my cousin,” she said. Much to her surprise, Bogan was hired by Second City. She spent three years with the company.
“I loved the creativity of it,” she declared. “I got to tour the country with them. We played in almost every major city. We got interviewed by Rolling Stone. That was exciting. I liked the camaraderie and I loved my castmates.”
Bogan left the company because she wanted to explore opportunities in Los Angeles. “I did a lot of episodic TV shows and some independent films,” she reported.
Bogan returned to the Chicago area in 1994 because she wanted to raise her daughter here. “I went into teaching for a while and did ‘Chicago Hope,’ and some of the shows that were shooting at that time,” she said. She taught music and theater at Stockton School in Chicago and at St. Francis Xavier in Wilmette, where she also directed their spring musicals.
Bogan performed in an all-female production of “Saint Joan” at the Greenhouse Theater Center in 2017.
Acclaimed pianist Mark Burnell is Bogan’s primary accompanist at the shows that she does for retirement centers. One of their shows is called “Gallivanting with Gershwin.” “It’s a whole history of George Gershwin’s life and times,” she said. “I sing 12 favorite Gershwin tunes.”
“Mark and I were also planning to do a show at Davenport’s this summer, which we couldn’t do,” Bogan said.
Since the stay-at-home mandate, in addition to her virtual shows, Bogan has been teaching music to private students on Zoom. She also tutors elementary school students in other subjects for which they need help.
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Bogan is getting pleasure out of doing the virtual shows — especially reading the comments that people make.
“It’s strange but you feel more connected in the comments section where you can do a shout out to them,” she said.
Bogan also appreciates the comfort level of performing virtually. “I like the fact that I can be in my living room and turn on Facebook and sing to people,” she concluded. “Of course, I would prefer to be in a live theater — really connecting with people.”
Connect with Sandra Bogan on Facebook at facebook.com/sandra.bogan.1.
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.