The recently departed but till then wildly successful 60 Minutes producer, Don Hewitt, when asked to what he attributed the longevity of the show simply said, ”Tell them a story.”

Cynthia Crane obviously has understood this formula for a long time and, on her latest CD and in her expansive unstinting style, she tells the story from her heart, her lungs, her gut—dare I say every functional organ contributes to the saga sung and spoken. The EPA should make Cynthia’s toxic explosion of the MacDermot/Ragni/Rado Hair “Air” its official anthem. When she presents her somewhat less than mini moon medley, she declares herself moonstruck and she moons herself and us in every sense of the word—from melancholy to mirth.

The set features the best of the best— Stephen Sondheim’s “Buddy’s Blues” from Follies, the Sammy Cahn/Jule Styne gem “I Fall in Love Too Easily” and offerings from Berlin, Arlen & Koehler, Bock & Harnick, Kander & Ebb, Dorothy Parker! Even “Smokin’ Reefers” penned by Schwartz & Dietz—all harmoniously getting along and a lift from the Crane.

Not as readily pantheoned, the Johnston/ Coslow “My Old Flame” is wistfully given an appreciative whirl by Ms. C, who makes me think sometimes, when she’s emoting and giving it the extra shmear (is that a WASP colloquialism?), maybe Sophie Tucker wasn’t the last of anything after all.

Noah Tree
Cabaret Scenes
October 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org