It's only just begun for Carpenters fan
Melbourne singer and Wicked cast member Angela Lumicisi has had many gigs over the years from music teacher to opera soprano to cabaret performer.
But the role she is happiest in is “Carpenterian”, being a devoted fan of the Carpenters.
For the past two years Lumicisi has juggled a gruelling eight-shows-a-week Wicked schedule with performances of her solo show We’ve Only Just Begun, inspired by top-selling 1970s sibling duo Richard and Karen Carpenter.
She will give up a night off from Wicked to perform her show at the Ellington Jazz Club next month.
A trip to Target sparked her Carpenters devotion. “I’ve loved them since I was 14, ” she says. “I was shopping for cassettes and I heard Karen sing for the first time and ran up and bought the cassette. I’ve been hooked ever since.”
Karen was 32 when she died in 1983 after a battle with anorexia. Lumicisi says Karen seemed to be singing about her own problems, the woe and heartache felt by teenagers the world over.
It wasn’t until Lumicisi was studying opera at the Melba Conservatory that she thought about sharing her love of the Carpenters’ music with a wider audience.
“I was at an open-mic night and was looking through a book of songs when I found Superstar, which was my favourite song. I went up and started singing it and remembered how much I love this music. I thought, ‘you know what, I want to write a show about them’.”
We've Only Just Begun has gone through various incarnations before settling on its current form about two years ago.
The show was originally conceived as a tribute act with Lumicisi playing Karen but she soon found people wanted to hear the music without any theatrical artifice.
Karen Carpenter was one half of the biggest selling American music act of the 1970s.
"There was only one Karen Carpenter and I could never be anything like her so I basically talk about their life and how it has influenced me through the songs," she said.
"I just feel it is more respectful to the fans that way."
Lumicisi says We've Only Just Begun is a passion project and a professional necessity to survive in Australia’s small performing-arts sector.
“There are many performers writing cabaret shows or setting up a photography studio or doing something that is creative because you must be versatile in this industry.”
Wicked is her first full-time professional stage job. She landed it at the age of 35 after years of combining teaching with pro-am and co-op productions, regular gigs with Melbourne Opera and her own cabaret shows.
Angela Lumicisi said touring with Wicked has been the two most glorious years of her life. Picture: Bill Hatto/The West Australian
Her decision to pursue a full-time performing career was a leap of faith.
“It took me about a year-and-a-half after I quit my job to set myself up as a performer because until you see yourself as that, no-one else will, ” she says.
“That takes a lot of guts and you have to go through a lot of heartache and pain with it. But I’ve had two of the most glorious years of my life touring with Wicked and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
We've Only Just Begun is at the Ellington Jazz Club on June 2. Wicked is at the Crown Theatre until June 28.
