Movers and Shakers Will and Anthony Nunziata Continue to Impress: Our Feinstein's review including an update from a second panelist
Kicking it off with "Raise the Roof", Will and Anthony Nunziata not only rose the roof, but Feinstein’s can count their blessings that the roof is still intact despite the knockout performance which is of course times two. They’ll make you jealous that you don’t have a twin that will sing with you. If you haven’t heard them we have five words for you: WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR. Get on the stick Manhattan, they are at Feinstein’s until July 23rd. They uniquely connect with their audience and in a space as intimate at Feinstein’s you will be spoiled, as you should be. And we brought one of our best Mover and Shaker panelists with us to be the judge, and she did not go to Boston College and had never met Will & Anthony before and she absolutely LOVED it and is a Feinstein’s regular. Obviously a woman with great taste and even Madison Avenue says so in addition to other cities…
You know we interviewed this pair prior to the show:
And here’s what they did at Columbus Day:
Completely entertaining and boasting a newfound maturity, the Nunziatas have the best diction, the most melodious notes, the best attitude, and the best duet in town, and we would say that even if they went to Notre Dame or Boston University, but we are obviously pleased to say they went to Boston College which reigns over them both. Peachy Deegan has never claimed to be unbiased as she thinks it is better to be honest: you know she’s a real person who was a tour guide there as a student for four years, and sportswriter, and statistician for the hockey team, the list could go on but this is a post on Will & Anthony not on why we love BC but we love it that they give us more reasons why. But on their way to the tennis courts on the Heights, they auditioned for Godspell, and one of them was Jesus and one was Judas…you have to go to their show to hear the real story. Peachy won’t tell it all she wants you to go to the show!
Nevermind the best duet in town, in the world, but isn’t Manhattan the world and that is the reason why you all read us? Destined for success, the upbeat flawless numbers one after another will leave the most discriminating music lovers enthralled. Take a look at how sparsely populated our column New York Notes is…Peachy Deegan is a girl that leaves a store if she doesn’t like the song. She loves these songs, and you will too.
“I Believe In You” was a strong start, and if you have been reading, you know we believe in them. Most numbers are a duet which makes it twice as nice.
Not every number is a duet; Will performs “When I Fall In Love” in a rendition that will move you and leave you knowing that was the best version you ever heard, while Anthony breathes “Real Live Girl” with equal emotion. Afterwards, they brought the audience out of their state of dreamland to their senses with “One Track Mind.”
Did you know that the twins did a commercial for Honey Nut Cheerios back in the day, and now they’ve made a number out of it? We are surprised Doublemint gum has not signed them up, but they did claim their commercial success paid for college…and they performed their Italian Classic Funiculi Funicula which is always a crowd favorite, and Anthony won the battle of holding the note the longest.
Most touching was their song “The Prayer” which their grandmother was listening to in her last days. Peachy’s grandmother who resides in heaven told us that she toasted The Peachy Deegan up there with their grandmother tonight to this song. Apparently heaven is a fun place if you are at the show of the Nunziatas and drinking The Peachy. Will & Anthony we are not fooled one bit by those FIJI bottles onstage; we know you must have snuck around the corner to Geisha to drink The Peachy to sound so fabulous!!! You might have been singing about martinis with one drop of vermouth but that is not as helpful to the vocal chords…
Their finale was “Getting Tall/I Will Never Leave You” and the encore was even better. Not an empty seat to be found in the house is testament to the quality of this show. By the way, Happy Birthday Mr. Nunziata, their dad who has great taste as well especially in advertising. And he was also brilliant to marry a BC grad from a very good year, even Sinatra would say so. Ted Firth was lovely on the piano.
Our esteemed panelist adds:
At Feinstein’s with a full house, identical twins Will and Anthony Nunziata Took the Audience by Storm! Performing The American Song Book, Broadway Tunes and Italian Songs with beautiful voices and a lot of charm the dynamic duo presented a cabaret act and a best quality show for all ages! I loved all the songs, specially “I Believe in You”, “When I Fall in Love” and “A Place Where We’ll Be Saved” as they performed in a very emotional way!
They are very talented and the best duet in town!
A great finale was “Make Someone Happy”
A Must See Great Show!
They just made me very happy!!!
Do yourself a favor and make yourself happy by going to see the Nunziata twins. And if you bring a plus one, what can we say, you’ll make someone happy too! We hear Broadway calling for this pair.http://willandanthony.com/
We quote the song:
Make someone happy, Make just one someone happy; Make just one heart the heart you sing to.One smile that cheers you,One face that lights when it nears you,One girl you're ev'rything to.Fame if you win it,Comes and goes in a minute.Where's the real stuff in life to cling to?Love is the answer,Someone to love is the answer.Once you've found her, build your world around her.Make someone happy, Make just one someone happy,And you will be happy, too.
***
An Evening with Will & Anthony Nunziata
Feinstein’s at Loews Regency
July 19-23, 2011
Director, Eric Michael Gillett
Musical Director, Tedd Firth
SONG CREDITS
RAISE THE ROOF
Music and Lyric by Andrew Lippa
EVERYBODY SAYS DON’T
Music and Lyric by Stephen Sondheim
I BELIEVE IN YOU
Music and Lyric by Frank Loesser
WHEN I FALL IN LOVE
Music by Victor Young/Lyric by Edward Heyman
REAL LIVE GIRL
Music by Cy Coleman/Lyric by Carolyn Leigh
ONE TRACK MIND
Music by Marvin Hamlisch/Lyric by Craig Carnelia
I CANNOT HEAR THE CITY
Music by Marvin Hamlisch/Lyric by Craig Carnelia
WHAT CAN YOU LOSE
Music and Lyric by Stephen Sondheim
NOTHING TO LOSE BUT YOUR HEART
Music by Stephen Flaherty/Lyric by Lynn Ahrens
ALL FOR THE BEST
Music and Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
FUNICULI FUNICULA
Music by Luigi Denza and Lyric by Peppino Turco
FAMILY
Music by Barry Kleinbort/Lyric by Neil Kleinbort
THE PRAYER
Music and Lyric by David Foster and Carol Bayer Sager
BEING ALIVE/WHO CAN I TURN TO (WHEN NOBODY NEEDS ME)?
Being Alive
Music and Lyric by Stephen Sondheim
Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)?
Music and Lyric by Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley
GETTING TALL/I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU
Getting Tall
Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
I Will Never Leave You
Music by Henry Krieger/Lyric by Bill Russell
MAKE SOMEONE HAPPY
Music by Jule Styne/Lyric by Betty Comden & Adolph Green
***
And our update from a second panelist:
Double the pleasure, double the fun, and double the entertainment value! No, I’m not talking about gum – I’m talking about the thoroughly enjoyable show by identical twins Will and Anthony Nunziata. I had the joy of being at their opening night at Feinstein’s at Loews Regency on Tuesday, July 19th, and was blown away by the growth in the brothers’ performances since the last time I saw them. Although their shows have always been entertaining and engaging, this show displayed a new sophistication in their performances. While still maintaining a youthful playfulness and charm, Will and Anthony steered away from relying on the novelty of being a “twin act” and focused more on delivering thoughtful, nuanced, and well thought-out renditions of songs that included showtunes, standards, and a few Italian numbers, in a nod to their heritage. Kudos to director Eric Michael Gillett for coaxing such stellar performances from these talented young men, as well as for helping to shape a well-structured, easy-flowing show. The brothers’ individual personalities were given room to shine on solo numbers like Will’s tender, hopeful “When I Fall In Love,” and Anthony’s sweetly excited take on “Real Live Girl.” The brothers are completely at home on stage and with each other, and clearly enjoy trading quips back and forth and lighthearted kidding around. The fun they have together is infectious, and makes the evening seem like a family party to which the entire audience is invited. Although patter was kept to a minimum, the brothers did share a few entertaining anecdotes – such as the being hired to record the jingle for a Honey Nut Cheerios commercial when they were thirteen, and then proceeding to recreate their performance, much to the delight of the crowd. This was followed by a story about getting sidetracked on the way to a tennis tryout in college – instead of that tryout, they ended up auditioning for Godspell, in which Anthony got cast as Jesus and Will, Judas! This led to another re-creation, this time, though, it was the zippy Godspell duet, “All For The Best.” And, to bring things full circle, they interspersed a few lines of the Honey Nut Cheerios commercial towards the end of the song – brilliant! A rousing rendition of “Funiculi Funicula” brought the house down, and this was followed by a moving delivery of “The Prayer,” a beautiful duet written by David Foster and Carol Bayer Sager, which is sung half in English and half in Italian. The evening was wrapped up by two powerhouse medleys, “Being Alive”/”Who Can I Turn To” and “Getting Tall/I Will Never Leave You.” The arrangements on both medleys were superb, thanks to musical director Tedd Firth, and both were an excellent showcase for the power of the brothers’ voices. After a standing ovation, Will and Anthony returned to the stage for an encore. Appropriately enough, after they’d just made a whole room full of people very happy, the encore was a terrific “Make Someone Happy.” If you haven’t seen the Nunziatas yet, make YOURSELF happy and get to Feinstein’s before their run is over! Remaining performances are tonight (Thursday, July 21st), tomorrow, and Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
