A native New Yorker, singer/chantuese Cynthia Crane started her performing career working in nightclubs and cabaret rooms up and down the East Coast, appearing with New England's big bands as well as performing in summer stock, off-Broadway, and for the USO abroad. With Ted Story, George Ferencz, and Pam Mitchell, she co-founded and co-produced The Impossible Ragtime Theatre, one of New York's off-off Broadway theaters, producing more than 100 plays. Crane is a self-confessed "black-sheep W.A.S.P. " (thus the title of her The Secret Life of a W.A.S.P. CD) coming from a three-generation native New York family. Her father's family founded the Crane Oxygen and Ambulance Service that serviced The Ziegfeld Follies with oxygen to snort backstage. During Crane's adolescence, she spent a lot of time listening to songs performed by singers, big bands, from musical comedies, and the movies of the 1930s and 1940s. These were to be her major influences as she developed her own style. In addition to The Secret Life of a W.A.S.P., Crane has four other albums to her credit, all with noted pianist/arranger Mike Renzi.nnConsidering herself as both a cabaret and a saloon singer, Crane has no compunction in performing songs that help fit that image, as well as being quite at ease with familiar entries from the Great American Popular Songbook. But even the better-known material often is given an irreverent, impertinent touch by this husky voiced singer. Her album Smoky Bar Songs for the No-Smoking Section as much as any of her albums catches Crane at her very stirring best, as she runs through a series of tunes designed to either lift or drown the spirit, depending on the attitude of the listener. In addition to performing, Crane is active in several New York City civic projects, especially efforts to save Big Apple landmarks from being destroyed by developers. Crane's talents as a performer have been recognized by her profession. She is the recipient of Back Stage's Bistro Award for Outstanding Vocalist. Crane continues to work at such New York watering holes as Tavern on the Green and Don't Tell Mama. ~ Dave Nathan