About Me - About Barbara Rankin

   Barbara Rankin has been living and performing in the Hudson Valley for nearly 20 years now, having relocated from New York where she worked as an actress and professional singer for many years.

            “Shuffle off to Buffalo”…

     Barbara began performing in her hometown of Buffalo, NY which is primarily known for excessive amounts of snowfall in the winter, but also as the home of many talented musicians and performers, namely the great composer Harold Arlen, A Chorus Line choreographer Michael Bennett, jazz drummer Mel Lewis, Dave Brubeck saxophonist Bobby Militello, jazz funk group Spyro Gyra, and alternative rock sensations, the Goo Goo Dolls. While majoring in theater and studying voice at Syracuse University, she competed and won the title of Miss Central NY, a prelude to the Miss New York Pageant, part of the Miss America Scholarship Pageant program. Her charming rendition of “How Lovely To Be A Woman” from Bye Bye Birdie won her the 1st runner-up title, and she was hired to perform and emcee numerous televised state pageants for the Miss America Pageant corporation, traveling across the country from Oklahoma to Vermont.

            “And all that jazz” …

     Following graduation from SU, she toured the US and Canada, singing and dancing with versatile show group, The Collage. A chance introduction to Tommy Dorsey pianist, Tom Sapienza, opened the world of jazz to Barbara, and together they formed the well-known jazz group, The New Wave, which featured saxophonists Militello, Mike Migliore, and Dave Schiavone, just a few of the many exceptional reed players in Western New York. The band took Buffalo by storm (musical, not snow!), and they were able to tour the East Coast based on many excellent reviews, such as the following:

~the beautiful thing about the New Wave is that they are stealthily sneaking solid, mainstream jazz into a club act…they make a refreshing splash!”

~Jeff Simon, The Buffalo Evening News

~A real treat is vocalist Barbara Rankin…her style is breathy, colorful and forceful…she's got some talent and has got to be heard.

~The Buffalo Jazz Report

~ Barbara Rankin displays an astounding range, particularly during specialty numbers like “Happy Talk.”

~“Dining Out in NY,” Where Magazine

“I happen to like New York” …

The lure of New York City, however, brought Barbara into the world of commercials, soap operas, industrial & independent films, playing roles on such shows as The Guiding Light and All My Children starring in industrials for J.C. Penney, and appearing in several commercials such as Michelob and Exxon. Returning to her roots as a singer, Barbara then launched a cabaret career, performing in trendy New York night spots like Caroline's, Jimmy Weston's, Freddy's Supper Club, the Park Ten, and Jan Wallman's. She was also invited to perform several concerts at Gracie Mansion for then-mayor, Ed Koch and did many benefits for hospitals and schools. The completion of her first album with full orchestra and strings called, “It's Been A Long, Long Time,” featured many of the great standard songs of the 1940's and attracted the attention of reviewers like John Madd from Variety who wrote:

~she caresses each lyric with vocal savvy…she's a sure bet for the classier rooms and boites….

Legendary singer, Margaret Whiting, wrote in her liner notes::

~Barbara has a distinctive quality in her voice that lets you know it could only be Barbara Rankin…that's the hardest thing to do [for a singer]…I adore the way she sings a lyric…in a warm, honest, intimate manner, finding all the meaning in the words…

            “It's so peaceful in the country” …

     After 10 years of performing in New York, Barbara decided that a move to the Hudson Valley would be the perfect spot for her family to live, which now included 3 young daughters. While enjoying the beauty and pleasures of the area, she reprised her cabaret act in two separate benefit performances, one for the Millbrook Arts Group, and another at the Vassar Brothers Institute entitled, COLE, featuring the music and lyrics of Cole Porter. A return to the theater would not be far off, and Barbara happily joined the Rhinebeck Theater Society, starring in A Little Night Music, Follies, and The King & I She also went on to appear with The Gilbert & Sullivan Musical Theater in their Highlights from the Footlights series and star in their production of My Fair Lady at the Bardavon and The Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck, NY. The culmination of these many years of performing came on July 9, 2003 when Barbara presented her one-woman show, “Barbara Rankin: Broadway and Beyond” to a sold-out audience at The Center in Rhinebeck.

            “A weekend in the country” …

     The balance for Barbara Rankin now that she is firmly ensconced in this beautiful part of the country, is to fully honor her many talents as an actress, jazz singer, cabaret performer, and most recently, composer/writer with two children's musicals in the works. Whether it's singing with a jazz duo at a cozy New England inn, shining on the Bardavon stage in an upcoming theatrical production, or starring in her own one-woman show, Barbara is sure to please every audience with her warm and engaging performances in each creative endeavor. Watch for Barbara Rankin at a theater or jazz room near you…and come and spend a weekend in the country!!!