Fletcher immediately cast Toomer as the leading woman, Cedric's Black mother Elizabeth. She worked closely with Fletcher over the next year, and in late April of her sophomore year, she made her debut at the Agassiz Theatre, igniting rave reviews from audiences and critics.

A review in The Crimson singled out Toomer as the show's star: "Especially notable is Toomer, whose vibrant voice resonates with emotions ranging from anger to sorrow to resigned defiance within a few bars, giving the character of Elizabeth admirable depth."

Toomer, perfectionist that she is, knows why she performed so well: "It was a really fantastic part written for me. The songs matched my range, and it was a perfect arena for me to shine in."

She calls the entire production "something special...a testament to the untapped talent at Harvard."

Toomer's career at Harvard, and beyond, took off soon after her debut at "The Errols." One night after a performance, Toomer met a former Harvard graduate who told her that nightclubs in Paris were interested in singers like herself.

Sensing the time was right to launch her singing career, Toomer seized the moment and jetted to Paris over Spring Break to try her luck at the nightclubs. She auditioned at a different club each night and lined up "tentative jobs" with those she impressed.

After arriving in Paris for the summer, she waited tables and sang in a high-priced nightclub, only to return to California after three weeks for "personal reasons."

The experience, she says, was "exhilarating." But it was also a reality check. "I thought the city would love me and jobs would fall in my lap," she says. "It taught me that you can't be unprepared...My biggest problem was that I didn't know enough, and I was way, way too naive."

Toomer says she was too wrapped up in the romance of the adventure to be "scared," but the same can't be said of her parents.

"She didn't know where she was going," her mother recalls, "And she didn't have an address. I was horrified. I was a little taken aback that she wanted to go to Paris, but she wanted to do it and I just said OK. I am a yesmom."

Toomer's ambition and sense of adventure has, in fact, always been supported--even nurtured--by her parents.

"I've always pushed myself to try new things, to do the most frightening thing," Toomer says. "I always knew I would have the support of my parents. They always supported me in what I wanted to do."

When she got back to Harvard, Toomer again didn't see much that excited her, but, by this time, she had found her niche. She sang in the Sondheim Cabaret, starred in a spring production of "Dreamgirls" (working with Forbes was "really exciting") and, of primary importance, met Benjamin F. Waltzer '93, who had recently transferred to Harvard from a joint program with Tufts and the New England Conservatory.

Waltzer is a talented jazz pianist whom she met in the CityStep Cabaret her junior year. The two have been working together ever since, with Waltzer helping Toomer develop her talents as a jazz singer.

Through this year, Waltzer and Toomer have performed together in Boston area clubs and, most notably, in a concert at Sanders Theatre with the Veritones.