By Melissa Griegel…
Photos by Melissa Griegel Photography
In her 54 Below debut, Laurie Roldan shared her life-long love for the music of Karen Carpenter with her show “A Song for You: The Music of Karen Carpenter”. Hailing from the West Coast, Rolden has performed in Bay Area musical theater productions and has sung as a soloist with several California symphony orchestras. In 2021, Roldan felt a calling to put together a deeply personal cabaret show about how the music of Karen Carpenter helped her navigate some of the rough patches throughout her life.
She has performed several versions of the show, including a special Christmas rendition, at assorted venues in California, and brought it to New York for the first time this past May at The Green Room 42. Roldan feels that her mission in life is to help uplift others through her music, and she peppered her show with inspirational affirmations, telling the audience that “life is a rollercoaster ride and we have so many opportunities to grow and learn” and that “it’s never too late to start a new journey.”
Her new journey to spread hope to others includes singing along with her daughter Bridgette Kinsella, who was part of a trio of back-up singers that included Christopher Boccard and Taylor Noll. Nicolas Perez served as pianist and music director, with Magda Kress on bass and Mitch Bowers on drums. Rolden took a turn playing percussion for “Close to You”.
Boccard joined her for the Carole King song “It’s Gonna Take Some Time” and her daughter, Kinsella, did a duet for “Those Good Ole Dreams”. “It’s pretty damn special to have your daughter with you,” she said, and gave her a big hug after their song. The pair definitely share a family resemblance.
The set list included many of Carpenter’s well-loved songs, and Roldan encouraged the audience to sing along to “Yesterday Once More”, “Top of the World”, and “Sing”. In between songs, Roldan shared stories of how her life sometimes mirrored Carpenter’s with struggles, depression, and eating disorders. Now, as an inspirational singer, Roldan followed these stories with words of encouragement to bring positivity and encouragement to the audience.
