By STU CLAMPITT
news@readthereporter.com
Top notch singers? Celebrity impersonators? Illusionists? The Edwards Twins, Anthony and Eddie Edwards, are a all of those things all at the same time.
You have you last chance ever to see them perform in Carmel for two nights only this weekend at Feinstein’s at Hotel Carmichael, 1 Carmichael Square, Carmel.
The Reporter spoke to Anthony Edwards about what audiences can expect at the upcoming shows – which will likely be their last appearance in Carmel – and about how the brothers developed a show they perform 300 times a year on tour.
“We are very good friends with Michael Feinstein, and he had asked us to do some of his places,” Edwards told The Reporter. “We did the one in L.A. for years and then we came here to Carmel. We do about 300 shows a year. They decided to add two shows because we did so well the first time.”
Edwards said their first appearance in Carmel reminded the brothers of the clubs they grew up with in the L.A. area. They had an uncle, Jack, who worked for George Slaughter and worked on The Sonny & Cher Show, Laugh-In, and others.
“Our Uncle Jack would bring us into the old-time supper clubs after the show where all the celebrities were there and we would hang out with them,” Edwards said. “It [Hotel Carmichael] really has that ambiance that we kind of grew up in.”
“We have this uncanny ability to mimic everybody and it just happened to be when we were younger that’s who we were around,” Edwards said. “We were around the greats like Milton Berle, Donald O’Connor, Gene Kelly, Sid Caesar – I mean these were all of our friends or my Uncle Jack’s friends, and we just started mimicking them and the more they loved it the more we did it.”
That childhood mimicking skill has grown into a career and a show that includes special effects makeup, countless costume changes, live musical numbers, and the illusion of being at a show with Neil Diamond, Cher, Bette Midler, Michael Bolton, Barbara Streisand, Elton John, Luciano Pavarotti, and many more.
Edwards calls himself and his brother illusionists because they give audiences the illusion of seeing an abundance of legendary celebrities on a single stage, all brought to life by only two people.
“All of the critics literally say it is be one the best – if not the best – show they’ve ever seen in their lifetime,” Edwards said. “It is different than what they have ever seen. Audiences will literally swear that Barbara Streisand and Elton John are on stage because we’re illusionists. We make you believe something that is not there, and we do that through our voices and through movie makeup.”
After nearly 40 years of performing across the country, Anthony and Eddie Edwards are moving to Florida after this tour, where they will perform at some local venues, but will likely not be on the road again. That makes this weekend Hamilton County’s last two chances to see this unique performance.
You can buy tickets for this weekend’s shows by calling (317) 688-1947 or by going online to FeinsteinsHC.com.
If you’d like a preview of The Edwards Twins work, you can see a short video featuring several of their impersonations at this link.
Photos provided