We Are Off To The Downey Theater!
Page Created: 11/30/2024 Page Last Updated: 12/01/2024 10:47
Vicky and Jim invited us to the Carpenter Christmas Legacy special at the Downey Theater and we decided to have dinner first at Vicky's favorite Mexican restaurant! We zipped up the 55 Freeway to the 605 Freeway and we were there!
It was a pleasant evening with the weather hovering in the low 60s.
Welcome to Los Compadres Mexican Restaurant. Serving the Best Authentic Mexican Food in the Los Angeles area, they offer quality service, and a fun family atmosphere.
In the heart of Norwalk!
We arrived first and were seated and ordered some whack-a-monlies which was excellent. We had a drink and enjoyed the atmosphere!
Vicky told me to smile abd show my tooth! I did!!
OK, now a real smile!
Just like Vicky said, the place was excellent and the service was outstanding. We enjoyed talking so much I didn't even get a picture of the delicious meal.
I did the green burrito (it had a fancier name) and Mary did their breakfast eggs with nopales (cactus) which she found to be excellent! She was sharp the rest of the evening.
Dessert time!
"Please can I have a bite of your dessert there, Big Boy!!"
Direct from Las Vegas, Carpenters Legacy: A Christmas Portrait, starring Sally Olson as Karen Carpenter and Ned Mills as Richard Carpenter, takes the audience back in time to an old fashioned Christmas. The show recreates the nostalgia of the Carpenters' Christmas television specials and features the holiday classics "Merry Christmas, Darling", "Sleigh Ride", "The Christmas Song" and much more, and includes many of the Carpenters' greatest hits.
Carpenters Legacy maintains a residency in the V Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. The show has played to performing arts centers, cabarets spaces including the famed Triad Theater in NYC, and SOLD OUT showrooms in Las Vegas and across the country.
The show was featured at the Carpenters 50th Anniversary Celebration held in Thousand Oaks, California (April 2019) and the Carpenters 55th Anniversary Celebration (April 2024) at the Downey Theatre in Downey, California (home of the Carpenters.)
Carpenters Legacy is a six time Best of Las Vegas winner and was voted "Best Impersonator" (Gold), "Best Tribute Show (Bronze) and "Best Family-Friendly Show" (Bronze) in 2023. Olson is the first-ever and only Karen and Richard Carpenter tribute artist to perform with the world-renowned Las Vegas based review Legends In Concert. Carpenters Legacy: A Christmas Portrait features a powerful live performance, historical commentary, lovely arrangements and video, taking audiences on an incredible journey down memory lane into the world of the Carpenters – the world's ONLY authentic Carpenters tribute in sight and sound.
The theater is beautiful!
Did You Know? - The Downey Theatre opened in 1970 to house the Downey Children's Theatre, which had been presenting musicals since 1963. The first musical at the new theater was The Sound of Music.
The theater has hosted shows from the Downey Civic Light Opera, the Downey Symphony, and other local cultural and dance companies.
Since 2011, the theater has also presented concerts and shows by nationally known artists. Capacity The Downey Theatre is a 738-seat professional performing arts center.
The theatre seats 738 (516 orchestra, 222 balcony). Its main stage is 50 feet wide, 56 feet deep and 23 feet high. Two smaller "wing" stages on either side have about 305 square feet of space each. It is a fully equipped facility with professional sound and lighting, orchestra pit, loading dock, staging area, green room, dressing rooms, and an outside patio for concessions and receptions.
It is located in the center of the city of Downey (population 113,000) near the civic center, library, and Embassy Suites hotel, with ample free parking
I checked the presents, they were all for Vicky
(That means, she got here first!!)
We had excellent seats!
There was a seven piece orchestra NOT counting the grand piano!
CLICK the Red/White Arrow and listen to a small version of tonights performance from an earlier recording on YouTube.
The setup was simple but the slide shows/movies made it come alive!
She could beat those drums!
Did You Know? - Yes, Karen Carpenter played the drums! Karen Carpenter began playing the drums in high school and was a drummer since she was a teenager. She was in her high school marching band and played the glockenspiel, but switched to the drums after noticing a classmate playing.
Carpenter played drums on some Carpenters recordings, including Ticket to Ride and Now & Then.
in 1975 Playboy magazine's annual opinion poll voted her the Best Rock Drummer of the year.
She was excellent!
As Sally Olson would sing, they played Karen Carpenter singing the same song and often they would be dressed alike! There was an uncanny resemblance!
A "Wow" moment t!
The expressions were quite similar!
Mary could NOT rersist taking her own video of this performance.
The tree was a popular photo shoot location!
Thank you Vicky (and her new camera)
Do you remember black and white??
All smiles! They look like Mr. and Mrs Claus!!
Another outstanding Christmas event with good friends and magnificent company! The laughing, giggling, and story telling keeps us young!!!
We thank You for the laughter and joy our friend brings into our lives. May their days be filled with smiles, and may the warmth of Your love surround them. Let happiness be their constant companion, and may they find joy in the simplest of moments.
