Laurie Roldan Will Bring New Edition of Karen Carpenter Tribute to The Green Room 42
A SONG FOR YOU: THE MUSIC OF KAREN CARPENTER AND FRIENDS will feature special guests Lianne Marie Dobbs and Gabriela Gomez.
THE GREEN ROOM 42 will present the return of San Francisco Bay Area vocalist Laurie Roldan in a new edition of her acclaimed concert “A Song for You: The Music of Karen Carpenter and Friends” on Thursday, April 30 at 7:00 PM. Inspired by the enchanting melodies and powerful storytelling of Karen Carpenter, Laurie and guests share a delightful evening woven through Carpenters hits such as “Close to You,” “Rainy Days and Mondays,” “Ticket to Ride,” in additions to duets and medleys that Carpenter performed with Ella Fitzgerald, Andy Williams, and Perry Como. Lianne Marie Dobbs (54 Below, Feinstein's) and Gabriela Gomez have been added as special guests. They will join the previously announced guest vocalists Christopher Andrew Aceves and Alexandra de Suze. The show will also feature a special duet with Laurie's husband, Dan Roldan.
Laurie will be joined by music director Mathew Zwiebel on piano, Mitch Bowers on drums, and Magda Kress on bass.
Last year, Roldan made her New York debut with the East Coast premiere of “A Song for You” at The Green Room 42, then returned for an encore performance at 54 Below. The Front Row Center hailed the evening as “a must-see NYC cabaret experience” and Opening Night Online called it “a genuinely personal meditation on resilience, faith, and the healing power of song.” According to All About Solo, “Echoes of Karen Carpenter's voice can be heard in Laurie's voice throughout the show. Roldan is clearly in her element, performing the Karen Carpenter catalogue with verve, optimism and utter delight.” BroadwayWorld raved, “Roldan has a lovely lower register, with strong resemblance to the recordings fans of The Carpenters know by heart. A joyful night of cabaret!”
Laurie Roldan, the Bay Area-based singer and actress, has been a guest artist at many special events throughout the west coast, and has appeared as a soloist with symphony orchestras throughout California, including The Diablo Symphony, The Livermore Amador Symphony, and has also performed leading roles with a variety of Bay Area theaters. Some favorite roles include The Narrator (3 times) in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Shellie Award nominee), Percy in The Spitfire Grill (Shellie Award nominee), Sarah in Guys and Dolls, Rose in The Secret Garden, and Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar. She was also a part of the Dean Goodman Award-winning cast of A Grand Night for Singing and was featured in Laurie Sings Gershwin, appearing on a Fox KTVU news special.
After an extensive foray into musical theater, cabaret, and inspirational music, and raising her three girls, Laurie felt compelled to create a new evening to inspire people to pursue their own dreams. After several years in development, Laurie debuted “A Song for You: The Music of Karen Carpenter” in 2021 to rave reviews at The Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek, CA. In 2022, Laurie debuted the Christmas version of the Karen Carpenter show and both editions have played in various Bay Area venues with continued success. Laurie was featured on KRON TV show “Live in the Bay” in 2024 to share about her show and her passion to uplift and inspire others.
Matthew Zwiebel is a Brooklyn-based composer, music director, and pianist. He is a graduate of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Writing workshop and is an alumnus of Carnegie Mellon's music composition program (BFA). Matt can be found working with Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS on their annual Red Bucket Follies and Broadway Backwards productions, and at various regional theaters throughout the country. Recently, he was the AMD/Keys 2 for Ogunquit Playhouse's White Christmas and is currently working as a music assistant for the West End revival of Avenue Q. Matt loves to collaborate and help expand the musical theater genre, and is an expert-level shredder in Guitar Hero.
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