Back in the 1980's while living in NYC, I had the great fortune to perform in cabarets throughout the city.  Every performer I knew (and I include myself!), felt that it was the most daunting task anyone could do:  put together a show of music, dialogue, choreography, jokes, special material and stamp it with your own personality and style; then go out and perform it to perfection in front of the most critical audience around...your peers! 

 

And yet, somehow, we were all desperate to book ourselves into a number of favorite haunts, send out the postcards, make the phone calls, plaster our posters all over the city, and to paraphrase Stephen Sondehim from FOLLIES, attempt to "strut our stuff" and out-dazzle our fellow performers!  One of those evenings, way back then, I wore the dress above, reminiscent of costumes from the cabarets of the 20's and 30's, and sang my heart out at FREDDY'S SUPPER CLUB in a show I called, "Love and Youth and Spring!"  

 

After that, the dress was retired, much like a baseball uniform, and hadn't been seen on a stage until this past month when the CENTER at Rhinebeck featured it in their wonderful production of CABARET.  Tori McCarthy as Sally Bowles dazzled her audiences, and the show had a great run for 3 weeks.  It was such fun for me to see the dress in action after its retirement, and made me think, hey, I might need to bring back the beads, fishnets, heels, and a new  version of Love and Youth and Spring in 2008!  In the meantime, I hope you'll check out all the CENTER musicals this fall for dates and time.  You won't want to miss the next show, I LOVE MY WIFE!

 

BLYTHEWOOD is a beautiful 1825 Federal Colonial home with barns and property located in the heart of the Hudson Valley, 90 miles north of NYC.  It is close to the village of Millbrook, but completely private with 25 acres of park-like surroundings, including woods, fields, pond, and views of the Catskill Mountains.  It has been the perfect place to raise children, tend gardens, hike on small trails, collect antiques, perform musical afternoons in the Music Room, and host an endless number of happy reunions and neighborhood get-togethers.  With children grown, it is now the time to pass the care of our lovely home into that of another.  As a perfect retreat from the city, either for businesses or families, BLYTHEWOOD is a stately, elegant, and warm, inviting property to consider!  Here's the link: 

 

For some reason, the cover of my newly-released CD did not scan very well in the newsletter as other pics have, so I do apologize.  I'm very excited about finally making the transfer of this album that I recorded in New York in the 1980's onto a CD.  As I explain in the liner notes, at the time, compact discs were just coming into the marketplace, and it was suggested to me that we market it that way.  But CD's were new and unproven, and my love of the old vinyl LP's was unshakable, and so I went with the vinyl, and the rest, as they say, is history.  I have a barn full of boxes of albums and for years, very few people with turntables to play the record on!  I understand that some people are yearning for the warmth of vinyl again, however, while awaiting those potential buyers, I was able to do this project at a wonderful studio in Rhinebeck, called The Clubhouse, and I'm very pleased with the reproduction.  The CD will be available very shortly on my website, BarbaraRankin.com, so I hope you'll check it out soon, especially if you love the music of the 1940's with full orchestra and strings.  I'll be reflecting more later on the experience of meeting some of the wonderful jazz greats in New York, such as Mel Torme, Helen O'Connell, Tony Bennett, and Margaret Whiting, who so very generously wrote the liner notes on my album.  Hope you'll enjoy it!

When I came upon this passage in a magazine article several years ago, I realized that it perfectly described the affection I have felt for my home, aptly named "Blythewood," of nearly 25 years here in Millbrook, NY in the Hudson Valley.  And with specific reference to the piano, it seemed to have been written especially for me,  for my Music Room (above) has been a constant friend and comfort to me.  A place where I can sit at the piano, sing, write, daydream, and research music and theater.

 

But the time has come to gather my songbooks, folders, hymnals, sheet music and musical arrangements, and move to a new home where I will create another space I will once again call my Music Room. 

 

Blythewood is on the market, and 
if you or someone you know is looking for a wonderul home, please check out the article below for a brief description, and also see the listing at this link:

 

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