Will and Anthony Nunziata

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Will and Anthony Nunziata

The Green Room 42, NYC, November 17, 2018

Reviewed by Bart Greenberg for Cabaret Scenes

Will & Anthony Nunziata

The adorable twin brothers Will and Anthony Nunziata celebrated the release of their newest CD with a somewhat overstuffed but enthusiastic show. Original songs, melodies for up-coming productions, and special guest performers all filled the roster, backed up by a swinging band under the musical direction of pianist Eugene Gwozdz. Over the years, the brothers have developed distinct on-stage personalities—Anthony is the more together of the two and co-writes much of the material; Will is the free spirit wearing the ruby red slippers (purchased in Italy).

Together, the twins conjured up some lovely harmony on songs such as “New York State of Mind” and a medley of “Unchained Melody” and “Someone Like You.” Individually, they offered up some original material they had a part in the writing of: “The Best Man” (Anthony, writing with Porter Carroll, Jr., Jeff Franzel, and Nina Ossoff) and “Make It Us” (Will, writing with Franzel and Tom Kimmel), among others. These works tend toward a pop/rock style, where the emphasis is on the driving music while the lyrics tend to repeat the same thoughts. A welcome contrast came when the brothers paid tribute to another pair of siblings with a segment from their upcoming show, Disney & the Boys, saluting the Sherman Brothers, including the perky “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” and a moving “The Age of Not Believing.”

Also helping to vary the program were three wonderful guest stars: the dazzling Cady Huffman; the powerhouse Lillias White’ and the chanteuse Joan Ryan, who gave an especially emotional rendition of a song by Anthony and Franzel, “I’ll Be with You Again.”

Joining Gwozdz in providing musical support were Chris Agar (electric bass), Pete Smith (guitars), Mark McLean (drums), and Daniel Dickinson (saxophone and reeds).

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Bart Greenberg

Bart Greenberg first discovered cabaret a few weeks after arriving in New York City by seeing Julie Wilson and William Roy performing Stephen Sondheim and Cole Porter outdoors at Rockefeller Center. It was instant love for both Ms. Wilson and the art form. Some years later, he was given the opportunity to create his own series of cabaret shows while working at Tower Records. "Any Wednesday" was born, a weekly half-hour performance by a singer promoting a new CD release. Ann Hampton Callaway launched the series. When Tower shut down, Bart was lucky to move the program across the street to Barnes & Nobel, where it thrived under the generous support of the company. The series received both The MAC Board of Directors Award and The Bistro Award. Some of the performers who took part in "Any Wednesday" include Barbara Fasano and Eric Comstock, Tony Desare, Andrea Marcovicci, Carole Bufford, the Karens, Akers, Mason and Oberlin, and Julie Wilson. Privately, Greenberg is happily married to writer/photographer Mark Wallis, who as a performance artist in his native England gathered a major following as "I Am Cereal Killer."