Cynthia Crane

December 14, 2009

“John Denver, Bernie Madoff & Me”

Don’t Tell Mama  –  November 30, December 6, 8, 9

It’s an intriguing title for a cabaret show—isn’t it?—”John Denver, Bernie Madoff & Me.” Reading backwards: the “me” is singer Cynthia Crane; Bernie Madoff is, well, Bernie Madoff, among whose victims, alas, was Cynthia Crane; and singer/songwriter John Denver, or John Denver’s estate, was also burned by Madoff. Having been handed a lemon by fate, Crane has opted to make lemonade; that is, she’s let her misfortune serve as inspiration for her latest show—and it is a very good show, indeed.

With her opening number, “The Spider and the Fly” (Marshall Barer, Duke Ellington), Crane establishes the theme: Madoff is the spider, Denver and she the fly. Appropriate not only to the song, but also to the evening’s agenda, she brings a palpable appreciation of both the macabre and the humorous to her interpretation. To her credit, she never projects misery or self-pity, nor does she ask for our sympathy. Instead, though she makes a few other specific references to Madoff, she allows her plight to impart a largely unspoken context to the musical selections.

About one-third of the songs are by John Denver. (Of course, Denver’s songs would be worthy choices even absent the Madoff connection.) Crane delivers a keenly centered rendition of “Looking for Space” and a sweet and tender reading of “Shanghai Breezes” paired with “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” and she brings emotional depth to “Some Days Are Diamonds.” Among the non-Denver numbers are a super-rhythmic “How Big Can You Get?” (Cab Calloway, Buck Ram) and a catchy, cute, and crowd-pleasing José Cuervo (Cathy Jordan).

The thematic appropriateness of two great World War II songs of optimism—”When the Lights Go On Again (All Over the World)” (Eddie Seiler, Sol Marcus, Bennie Benjamin) and “(There’ll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover” (Nat Burton, Walter Kent)—is obvious, as is the relevance of the chipper closing number, “I Don’t Think I’ll End It All Today” (Harold Arlen, E.Y. Harburg). Crane’s performance of the first two is very touching, and her rendition of the closer is infectious.

Musical director Mark Janas on piano and Sean Harkness on guitar complement each other beautifully, and together they provide deft and graceful accompaniment.

Over the past few years, Crane has been singing better than ever, directing her vocals to her lower register, which is the surer part of her voice; the result has been a richer, deeper, comforting sound. The only exception in the current show is “Prelude to a Kiss” (Duke Ellington, Irving Gordon, Irving Mills), which is set too high to be ideal. One other issue: She sings Arthur Hamilton’s “Cry Me a River” in French. As a general principle, I think it’s terribly silly to sing English-language songs in anything but the original language when one is singing to an English-speaking audience; her assertion that people in Paris love American songs sung in French is insufficient justification on West 46th Street. But I quibble.

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About the Author

Roy Sander has been covering cabaret and theatre for over thirty years. He’s written cabaret and theatre reviews, features, and commentary for seven print publications, most notably Back Stage, and for CitySearch on the Internet. He covered cabaret monthly on “New York Theatre Review” on PBS TV, and cabaret and theatre weekly on WLIM-FM radio. He was twice a guest instructor at the London School of Musical Theatre. A critic for BistroAwards.com, he is also the site’s Reviews Editor; in addition, he is Chairman of the Advisory Board of MAC.