You don’t need to be 50 years old to remember the Carpenters, the brother-sister duo that helped define pop music in the 1970s with gold-gilded melodies, pristine production and a certain yen for heartache. The music is timeless and has ardent fans online and on music streaming channels. It’s also the basis for a new cabaret show that was developed in Indianapolis with a strong connection to Ball State University. It since has been performed on Broadway’s doorstep in New York City. The most recent production was less than two weeks ago at the Laurie Beechman Theatre on 42nd Street.

Titled “The Carpenters Project: An Offering,” the show is the product of two performers who cut their teeth onstage in central Indiana. One of them you very likely have seen: Brent Marty, the director of music and education at Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre in Carmel, who performs all around the Indy area. His partner in the production is Amy Rafa, a performer, producer and arts and not-for-profit administrator based in New York City. The two of them met in Ball State’s Department of Theatre and Dance in the 1990s and have been friends ever since. Their mutual love of the Carpenters led them over several years to develop the show, which is more an exploration and celebration of the music than an impersonation.

By the same token, this episode of the IBJ Podcast is about more than two people putting on a show. It’s also about how young performers in theater have to hustle and sacrifice to build careers, and how they constantly face the question of whether performing exacts too high a price. It’s about opportunities for collaboration, particularly in Indiana’s close-knit theater community. And it’s about preserving the bonds of friendship and helping each other achieve dreams together.
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