"THE TWO SVENGALIS spotlights rapier-sharp words and a score that ranges from torchy ballads to lilting swing—with a healthy dose of Broadway brass —dark subtext and dry humor, two fascinating characters, and a book that is most intriguing. Toni DiBuono provides the perfect balance of showbiz pizzazz and human frailty. Tuner's offbeat quality is sure to appeal to sophisticated theatre crowds."
– Mars, VARIETY
"This witty and entertaining show tells the intentionally florid story of two people who, driven by a need for revenge against their former lovers, rise to fame and fortune. Barton's songs have real craft behind them and DiBuono is a wonderful comedienne. In short, this is a fine piece of work."
– Barbara & Scott Siegel, THEATERMANIA
|
What happens when a hack songwriter
is faced with the daunting task of transforming
an amateur singing housewife
into the greatest singer/actress in the world?
The inevitable: he succeeds.
And what happens when an amateur singing housewife
is faced with the daunting task
of transforming a hack songwriter into the toast of
Broadway?
The inevitable: she succeeds...
And together they conquer the world—and each other—in fifteen songs...
And only they know who they really
are...
THE TWO SVENGALIS! |
Original Cast Records
announces the CD release of THE TWO SVENGALIS, starring
Drama-Desk-Award-winner Toni DiBuono and Bistro-Award winner Fred
Barton, with music, lyrics, and orchestrations by Barton. The CD is now
available at Amazon.com,
CDBaby.com and Footlight.com,
iTunes
and 33 other online outlets. The CD consists of 15 tracks, with a sixteen-page book of liner
notes, photographs, and information about the show.
FRED BARTON: One day during my first year in New York, after setting up my coaching studio, I greeted a shy, terrified housewife from New Jersey, who had come to me at the command of her husband, who apparently held weekly business dinners at their home and enjoyed having his wife entertain their guests with performances of showtunes. Her obvious lack of confidence and enthusiasm (call it sheer terror), fascinated me. She only came to me once or twice (I was not the ideal prescription for terror-stricken clients) – but I never forgot her story, and eventually my writer's mind began to twitch: – what was behind the husband's compulsion to send his wife into Manhattan for singing lessons? What was he doing back home during his wife's absence? And what if the choice of singing coach was not as random as picking a name out of the Back Stage classifieds? And that's when my memory of George duMaurier's Trilby started to kick in.
Toni DiBuono and fourteen songs later, presto: The
Two Svengalis, the ultimate musical for a piano man and his towering diva.
In the style of 1950's Hollywood backstage musicals,
combined with the melodramatics of Douglas Sirk, The Two Svengalis
ponders the mysterious electricity that mutually ignites two sympatico talents
– the Porters and Mermans, the Cowards and Lawrences... and the chaos that
ensues as they try to figure out who's bringing out the brilliance of whom. The
Svengalis' songs grow in sophistication over the development of their rapport
and celebrity, from cornball honky-tonk to Dolores-Gray-50's swing
showstoppers, culminating in a contemporary ballad, "There's A String Tied
To A Good Time."
|
LISTEN TO EXCERPTS from
THE TWO SVENGALIS
|
|
The original cast recording of
THE TWO SVENGALIS,
a new musical entertainment with music, lyrics, and orchestrations by Fred Barton, and book by Fred Barton and Toni DiBuono. Drama-Desk-Award-winner Toni DiBuono and Bistro-Award-winner Fred Barton are the performers. The score is in the tradition of the Golden Age Of Broadway. | |
from the original cast recording
Toni DiBuono and the Fred Barton Orchestra
at the Metropolitan Room (March, 2012)
