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Seeing double at The Castle cabaret

July
1

Broadway veteran John Treacy Egan first met Will Nunziata on a Metro-North train years ago, when Will approached him and said, “Aren’t you the guy from ‘The Producers’?”

They chatted for a while and went their separate ways.

The next time Egan met Nunziata, Egan started the conversation, but Will acted as if he didn’t know him.

That’s because it wasn’t Will. It was his twin brother, Anthony.

Fast forward a couple of years and the Nunziatas will be working for Egan, appearing at the venue he has been booking: Cabaret at the Caste in Tarrytown.

The 20-something Pelham Manor twins have been making inroads in the cabaret world. They’ll play Michael Feinstein’s swank Midtown club in the fall.

But first, on July 12, they’ll be at The Castle on the Hudson, an intimate venue with spectacular views of the Hudson.

Egan’s little experiment, calling a few friends to come to the country and sing after supper, has taken off. It was supposed to fill a mid-winter lull in business at The Castle until the summer wedding season picked up.

But here it is six months later and the room is still hopping most Sunday nights. (Upcoming are Luba Mason, Richard Roland and Brandon Cuttrell; Kristy Cates performs on a special Friday, July 24.)

“There’s just a classy feel to The Castle,” Anthony Nunziata says, “Like, wow, there is a venue for Westchester audiences to tap into a cabaret concert feel. It really is Feinstein’s in Westchester. And we have so many people who are coming up to see us because it’s a 30-minute escape from the city, like a weekend in the country, to quote ‘A Little Night Music.’

“Tyne Daly thought it was a great venue to try out her entire Feinstein’s act,” he adds.

Consider it Feinstein’s North.

Others who have played The Castle include Nancy Anderson, Emily Skinner, Kate Shindle, Christine Pedi and Egan.

The Nunziatas’ Pelham home was full of music when they were growing up, but it was Feinstein, Sinatra, Mario Lanza and Streisand, not Justin Timberlake or Beyoncé.

“Even now,” says Anthony, “when we’re at a bar with friends, I’ve gotta ask my friends, ‘Who’s the pop singer?’”

Show business is in their blood.

“Our father was a singer and our mom’s father was Bill Wendell, who was David Letterman’s announcer for many years,” Will says.

Wendell also was an on-air second banana to Ernie Kovacs on TV.

The Nunziatas came to the attention of Richard Jay-Alexander, who directed shows by Barbra Streisand, Bernadette Peters and Brian Stokes Mitchell. He is helping them prepare for Sept. 21 and Oct. 5 appearances at Feinstein’s, one of Manhattan’s coveted cabaret clubs.

“He’s helping us with song selection, the storytelling aspect of the evening and helping us conceptually, from what we wear to what we sing to what our Feinstein’s press photos look like,” Anthony said. “He brings his professionalism and understanding how to mold an act around specific performers.”

Will says the Castle set list will be a little bit of everything, from Broadway to standards to “Italian songs we grew up listening to” to children’s songs.

They’ll be accompanied on piano by Alvin Hough Jr. and will mix duets with solo favorites (Will’s “Where is Love” from “Oliver!” and Anthony’s “Edelweiss” from “The Sound of Music”).

Will says the song from “Oliver!” was the first song he ever sang solo — in elementary school — and has come to mean something different as the years have gone on.

“The lyrics are just so simple, but it allows me as an artist to delve into what I’m feeling at this point,” Will says.

The twins have sung all over, from Manhattan’s Metropolitan Room, Birdland and Rose Hall to the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and The Boston Pops.

In the fall, it’ll be Feinstein’s.

On July 12, it’ll be in a castle close to home.

Photo by Matt Simpkins Photography: Will (sitting) and Anthony Nunziata.

Will and Anthony Nunziata
Where: Cabaret at the Castle, Castle on the Hudson, 400 Benedict Avenue, Tarrytown.
When: July 12.
Tickets: $100 for a four-course dinner at 6; $55 for a Viennese dessert table at 7:30. Show at 8 p.m.
Call: 914-631-3646.
Web: castleonthehudson.com or www.myspace.com/cabaretatthecastle
Next: Luba Mason, July19; Kristy Cates, July 24 (a special Friday night); Richard Roland, Aug. 2; Brandon Cuttrell, Aug. 9

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 at 12:23 pm by Peter D. Kramer.
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If it involves theater in any way -- from grade-schoolers learning Shakespeare to high school musicals to Broadway veterans getting into character -- this is the place to talk about it. We'll have audition notices, casting notices, mini-reviews and plenty of ideas to fill a theater junkie's to-do list.
About the Author
    Peter D. KramerPeter D. Kramer has loved theater his whole life. A Rockland County native and 19-year employee of The Journal News, Pete relishes his current role, alerting theater lovers to the possibilities and talking to artists young and old about their craft. A former actor, director, technical director, ticket-taker and bon vivant, Pete has put a theater life behind him, living vicariously through those he interviews.

    E-mail Peter

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