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Reviewed by Joe Regan Jr.

January 9, 2014

 

 

 

Will and Anthony Nunziata, the young identical twins from Long Island, have been appearing all over the country since their debut at the Mabel Mercer Foundation’s Cabaret Convention some years ago.  Both performers have very strong vocal equipment and their harmony is extraordinary when they do blended choruses.  They usually dress formally for their acts, but to define who is who, one wears a white shirt and the other wears a blue shirt.  Their cabaret at 54 Below on January 9 was entitled “Broadway, Our Way,” and we were given an autobiographical history of their growing up with a supportive family.  They confessed their young fascination with the VHS of “The Sound of Music” and putting their underwear on their heads to create wimples when they were singing the nuns’ songs from that show.  They saluted their father for not admonishing them for that act and let him stand up in the audience and take a bow.  The show was sold out and there were many celebrities in the audience, including composer Stephen Schwartz.

The theme of the show was their journey from childhood and appropriately their opening number was “This Could Be the Start of Something Big.”  They did blocks of their favorite Broadway composers.  The first set was of Jule Styne and Comden & Green which began with harmonies and duets on “Just in Time” and “Make Someone Happy, then a beautiful solo on “Never Never Land” by Anthony and an exquisite solo by Will of “Being Good Isn’t Good Enough” from “Hallelujah Baby.”  They discussed how their father taught them to harmonize in the back seat of the car as their parents were driving them to New York City to see Broadway shows and the examples were energetic; “When the Saints Go Marching In,” “Lullaby of Broadway” and “Brotherhood of Man.”

A fake quarrel with aggressive touching led into an unusually antic confrontational “You’re Nothing Without Me” from “City of Angels.”  It would be great to see a revival of this show with the twins!  They discussed when they went to Boston to go to university (tuition paid by their Cheerios commercials) and immediately auditioned for a production of “Godspell,” one as Jesus and the other as Judas.  From that show we got a stirring “All for the Best” which had Schwartz cheering.

There was a wonderful memory of their Grandmother Nunziata who always sang at the family functions in a very clear soprano.  Their memory of her was a stirring “O Sole Mio” sung in Italian.

The Nunziatas spend a great deal of their time touring schools in a funded program entitled Educational Outreach Initiative, doing Master Classes to young teens and advising them to follow their dreams and making music a significant part of their lives.  They tell them when others discourage their dreams to ignore them and plow ahead…doing a rousing “Everybody Says Don’t,” followed by a stirring “Somewhere” for their Sondheim section.

The last was a tribute to Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley:   heartbreaking turns on “Who Can I Turn To,” and “What Kind of Fool Am I” sung in counterpoint, and a rousing “Once in a Life Time.”  Their well deserved encore was in both Italian and English, with one twin singing in Italian as the other did the English lyrics:  a superb “Prayer” by Alberto Testo, Tony Renis, Carole Bayer Sager, and David Foster.

The Nunziatas had the great trio they tour with:  Alvin Hough, Jr. on piano, Jeremy Yaddaw on drums, and Adam Neely on bass.  For information on their future engagements go to www.willandanthony.com

 

54 Below, 254 West 54 St. (Cellar), NYC   (646) 476-3551