(LAKEWOOD, NJ) -- Fifty years ago, A&M Records signed a sister and brother duo called the Carpenters and released their debut album Offering (later re-titled Ticket to Ride), leading the way for the pair to become one of the most successful recording acts of all time. Coinciding with the 50th Anniversary year of that monumental signing and album debut, We've Only Just Begun: Carpenters Remembered, the massively successful touring show based around the Carpenters' music and their story, comes to The Strand Center for the Arts in Lakewood on Saturday, February 1st at 8:00pm.
The We've Only Just Begun: Carpenters Remembered show has brought the music of the Carpenters to U.S. audiences since it hit the road in 2013. Conceived by and starring Canadian singer Michelle Berting Brett, she created the show after being told repeatedly that she sounded like the late Karen Carpenter. What began as a cabaret show with Berting Brett accompanied by a pianist has grown into a touring theatrical production that has played performing arts centers and concert halls as well as multiple engagements in Las Vegas, New York and Atlantic City. Produced by Berting Brett's husband Mark Brett, the show is now backed by a stellar Nashville band under the direction of Harry Sharpe.
We've Only Just Begun: Carpenters Remembered was an official event of the fan-fueled "Carpenters50th" convention held in April in the Los Angeles area that brought together some 150 Carpenters fans from all over the world. Included in the gathering’s schedule of activities was a capacity performance of the show at the Carpenters’ hometown Downey Theatre. The Los Angeles Times, in covering the event, referred to Michelle Berting Brett as “The farm girl from Saskatchewan who heard the music on her transistor radio and performs it today on stages all over the world.” In speaking of Karen Carpenters’ voice, Berting Brett told the Times: “I don’t think even she realized how great she was. She made it sound so effortless, with these incredibly long phrases — the breath that girl had was incredible.”
Karen and Richard Carpenter sold more than 100 million records worldwide. The Carpenter family, including then 16-year-old Richard and 13-year-old Karen, moved from New Haven, Connecticut in 1963 to the town of Downey near Los Angeles. Both siblings attended Downey High School where Richard, already an accomplished pianist, came to the attention of the school band's director, and Karen played glockenspiel in the marching band to get out of gym class. She later switched to the drums and began singing with a jazz trio formed with her brother and a school friend. By 1969, the Carpenters were signed to A&M Records, and the duo would go on to release 12 studio albums, two Christmas albums, two live albums, 46 singles, and numerous compilation albums.
The Strand Center for the Arts is located at 400 Clifton Avenue in Lakewood, New Jersey. Tickets range from $30 to $45.
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