Broadway diva Betty Buckley will open her heart to San Francisco March 11 and 12 in two concerts drawing on songs her recent album, "Heart to Heart." The American Conservatory Theatre's Geary Theatre will host the evenings.

Buckley first made a splash on Broadway as Martha Jefferson in 1776, singing "He Plays the Violin." She continued to work (including a TV stint on "8 Is Enough"), but her major musical breakthrough came with Cats, where her singing of hit song "Memory" won her a Tony Award. She went on to star in The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Triumph of Love and, in two of the ultimate diva turns, she played Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard on Broadway and Mama Rose in Gypsy at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse. Her solo albums include "With One Look" and "Betty Buckley: 15 Year Anniversary."

She will revisit her signature numbers from Cats and Sunset Boulevard, as well as perform pieces from "Heart to Heart." Among them are Irving Berlin's "How Deep Is the Ocean," Stephen Sondheim's "Anyone Can Whistle," Lerner and Loewe's "If Ever I Would Leave You," Rodgers and Hart's "My Funny Valentine, " "Falling in Love with Love" and "You're Nearer" and "Danny Boy," as well as the James Taylor hit "Fire and Rain" and Mary Chapin Carpenter's "I Am a Town."

Tickets are $75-$20. The Geary Theater is located at 405 Geary Street. For reservations, call (415) 749-2228. The American Conservatory Theatre is on the web at http://www.act-sfbay.org.

— By Christine Ehren