Carpenters tribute show returning to Downey Theatre

Sally Olson and Ned Mills star as Karen and Richard Carpenter in “Carpenters Legacy,” playing April 24 at the Downey Theatre.

DOWNEY – The Carpenters Legacy, a tribute show celebrating the music and legacy of Karen and Richard Carpenter, will return to the Downey Theatre next month as part of the Carpenters 55th Anniversary Celebration.

The performance will take place on April 24 at 8 pm.

Starring Sally Olson as Karen Carpenter and Ned Mills as Richard Carpenter, the show is a recreation of what audiences may have seen when seeing the Carpenters live in the 1970’s. The show currently maintains a residency in the V Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

“This show is based on the Carpenters live concerts, centering around their 1976 tours,” said Mills. “What we did is we’re one of the only tributes out there that we actually perform in character, including duplicating their dialogue, their banter with each other and the audience. For a lot of people who have never seen the Carpenters perform live, there’s an entertaining side of them that they wouldn’t know unless they purchase a ticket to see them live. Sally does a big drum feature like the way Karen did. Richard does a classical piano feature, and so we’ve put that into the show as well.

“In other words, after people have seen the show, they realize that the Carpenters didn’t just come up with a bunch of wonderful, beautiful hits, but there’s an entertaining side to them as well.”

This is the third time that the show will perform at the Downey Theatre.

Olson called Downey “The Graceland of the Carpenters.”

“When I first started performing as Karen, going back to even before I met Ned, I had the goal and the aspiration of bringing the show one day to the Downey Theatre because of the Carpenter’s History there,” said Olson. “The audience at the Downey Theatre, they’re probably some of the best audiences we’ve ever had because they’re so proud of that Carpenters connection and the energy is really just thrilling.”

For ticket information, visit www.downeytheatre.org or call (562) 861-8211.