Despite a severe shortage of face-slapping, clandestine affairs and paternity tests, one chaotic salon session set the wheels in motion for another classic head-spinning ‘Maury Povich’ episode.

Four female Garbos employees masqueraded as fairy godmothers after taking flight to the Big Apple last Thursday. With blow dryers and compacts in tow, the troupe painted, preened and powdered four contestants for Maury’s whirlwind ‘Spring Makeover’ special.

No previous experience had fully braced Mary Barbano, Jennifer Nizliozek, Penny Gallo and Renee Overy for what was to come.

‘It was crazy,’ Barbano said. ‘There was hairspray, color, makeup, lots of product, people yelling at each other, people walking around with headsets … all the big-wigs.’ The artists had a mere two stations, one shampoo bowl and two hours at their disposal for transforming their projects from Quakers to booty-shakers.

The Garbos group landed the opportunity when Barbano received a phone call from Bianco Nardi, a 2000 Syracuse University graduate and previous co-worker. Nardi’s first sentence took her aback, since she could remember the alumnae doing grunt work at the salon only a few years ago.

‘She said, ‘Guess what … I got a job at the Maury Povich show!” Barbano said Nardi then described how she used the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications alumni base to connect with a producer in New York. While Barbano made the trek south to visit her during spring break, Nardi asked if she’d be willing to return with more of the Garbos crew for a ‘Maury’ appearance.

‘Absolutely,’ Barbano answered.

Before they knew it, the four had hopped on a train for the 24-hour trip of a lifetime. Dominic Barbano, owner of Garbos, was eager to see his employees gain expertise by harnessing their creative talents under intense pressure.

‘You can’t speed up the chemical process, but you can’t dawdle,’ Dominic Barbano said. ‘It took a lot of precision on their part to pull it off.’

The stylists dealt with a wide range of makeover subjects, ranging from country bumpkins to a woman with hair falling down to her ankles. All of the contestants were excited and ready for a change, Gallo said. The long-haired woman gave almost 2 feet of hair away to Locks for Love; a Kansas native quipped, ‘Oh, I never had anyone do my hair from New York before,’ said Mary Barbano, chuckling.

As their masterpieces prepared to strut down the catwalk, the beauticians slid back into their seats and watched the reactions of audience members around them. Each makeover received a standing ovation. One husband was so shocked that he grabbed his chest as if he was feigning a heart attack, Mary Barbano said.

Povich eventually introduced the stylists to the audience, prompting him to ask if Nardi was ‘as crazy at Syracuse University as she is here.’ After the show, which will be aired Memorial Day weekend, the group posed with Povich for a trademark celebrity photo break.

Given the opportunity, Barbano, Gallo and Nizliozek all agreed they would repeat the ultimate salon experience in a heartbeat. They also pointed out several lessons gained from their brush with show business.

‘It was unbelievable,’ Mary Barbano said. ‘You have no idea what goes into the taping of a show and how many people are involved.’

Garbos’ public exposure will not only prove beneficial for the stylists’ seasoned abilities, but also highlight Syracuse University students’ access to real world success, said Dominic Barbano.

‘What is cool is watching someone who worked here as a freshman now working for a nationally syndicated show – realizing people who work here are capable of doing that,’ he said.

Published on March 26, 2006 at 12:00 pm