Singer LeAndra’s November 5 show Soundtracks Through Time marks a dual celebration, in a way.
A joint production with the Little Carib Theatre, the show fetes the theatre’s late founder Beryl McBurnie, La Belle Rosette, as part of the theatre’s Viva Beryl! Celebrating the Little Carib Legacy weekend of events.
On a more personal note, the show is LeAndra’s way of celebrating life in the wake of the losses of the covid19 pandemic.
“With the devastation it brought for many, including my own personal experience of the loss of some six of my relatives, it was heartbreaking for all,” the UTT-trained singer said. “It has been a difficult time for the vast majority, emotionally, physically and economically. It proved to be uniquely challenging for us as artists. Performing live was our bread and butter, not to mention feeding off the energy of the audience. Some of us rose to the challenge by going online, and it proved to be a good experience. With restrictions lifted for the most part, things have opened up and we are able to perform live again, which is a joy.”
Since returning to the live stage, LeAndra’s recent credits include a feature performance at North Coast Jazz 2022 and An August Evening.
[caption id="attachment_980799" align="alignnone" width="683"] LeAndra -[/caption]
She jumped at the opportunity to play the famous Little Carib stage. McBurnie, who was born in 1913 and died in 2000, was a trailblazer in the arts in TT, and the concert will include show tunes from her heyday.
“I plan to perform songs that span various generations,” LeAndra said. “I hope to connect to the audience and invoke the full gamut of feelings and emotions through my performance. The audience can expect to be taken back to memorable times through song, and hopefully some of the best in their lives.”
While she didn’t reveal any names, the set list is taken from LeAndra’s extensive Broadway and jazz repertoire.She said there would be “exciting guest performers and some of the best musicians in TT featured on Soundtracks Through Time. But I’d like to keep that a surprise for the moment.”
The theatre’s celebration begins with LeAndra’s show and continues the following day. On November 6, there will be a series of films from the archives of Christopher Laird that showcase selected productions at the Little Carib Theatre from days gone by. "The Beryl weekend promises to be an incredibly rich one – from the powerful, young voice of LeAndra to the snippets of nostalgia and magic that took place on the Little Carib stage over the years, reimagined through archival films of veteran filmmaker Christopher Laird," said Little Carib Theatre chair Shida Bolai.
Tickets for Soundtracks Through Time cost $250 and are available at the Little Carib Theatre box office at 622-4644 and from LeAndra’s team at 734-8902.
The show is set for 6 pm on November 5 at the Little Carib Theatre, Woodbrook.
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