Like many theatrical young men born in the 1960s, Anthony and Eddie
Edwards were inspired by the great TV divas of the ’70s: Cher on The
Sonny & Cher Show, Lily Tomlin on Laugh-In. Unlike many
of those other young men, the Burbank-born Edwards brothers were
encouraged to become professional entertainers by one of their beloved
TV divas: Carol Burnett urged them to fuse their musical abilities to
create “Celebrities on Stage,” the celebrity-impersonation extravaganza
the Edwards Twins have been touring around the country for the past
decade. (The Burnett story in a nutshell: She first saw Anthony Edwards
impersonate her in a show in Toronto, then she hired Eddie Edwards to
impersonate Bette Midler in one of her own shows, and now all three are
chums.)
Subtitled Two Brothers, 100 Celebrities!, the Edwards Twins’
show kicked off its Seattle summer residency at Julia’s on Broadway
this past weekend, landing on opening night as a well-polished chunk of
borscht-belt stage magic. Beyond mere look-alikes, the Edwards Twins
are both visual and vocal illusionists, with Eddie Edwards channeling
the divas (Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Cher) and Anthony Edwards
approximating various men (Elton John, Neil Diamond, Sonny Bono). Of
course, nearly anyone can impersonate Sonny Bono—just slap on a
mustache and croak—but performing live as Barbra Streisand takes
some chops, and Eddie Edwards’s seemingly effortless emulation of
Streisand’s buttery vocals was the musical high point of the show.
Eddie Edwards’s Streisand is also the majority of the show—the
“100 Celebrities!” will apparently stretch throughout the two-month
run, with each week’s installment bringing a half-dozen to the stage.
On opening weekend, these celebs were Sonny and Cher, Streisand, John,
Andrea Bocelli, and a handful of vocal-only impersonations undertaken
by Anthony while Eddie de-Chered himself. A quick-moving show it is
not, with sets by John, Streisand, and Cher lumbering on for five or
more songs each, with diminishing returns. Still, there’s something
undeniably charming about seeing two borscht-belt lifers plying their
well-honed trades in your neighborhood, and I’d be happy if this goofy,
old-timey show found the Seattle audience it craves. But I’m not going
back to check. 
I’d rather be boiled alive in my own urine than be forced to endure this.
The best show of its kind to hit Seattle, ever. For 20.00 and a couple of drinks, money well spent.
They sing their own vocals and they have show biz acumen up the butt galore.
When I went, the joint was jammed and cheered wildly over and over. Three cheers for Julia’s – another good option out there.
The Barbara stuff was indeed master quality. That alone was worth the time.
“More like Barbara than Barbara,” – a comment offered at a close table.
#1
from the look on your face, hot urine cocktails might do you good … just ‘sayin
Jesus fucking christ, am I the only person who had to look up “borscht belt”? If you use some ultra-obscure term THREE times in a three paragraph article, can’t you throw us a little parenthetical definition?