Craig Rubano

             CABARET  SCENES    February 6, 2005

Craig Rubano
Change Partners

The Hideaway Room at Helen’s                                                                          Put Steve Ross, Lynn Redgrave, Barbara Carroll, Liliane Montevecci, Donald Smith, Donna Murphy, Joyce Breach, Marion Seldes, and Paula West with a host of other glitterati, together in the Hideaway Room at Helen’s, and what do you have? The enthusiastic opening night audience of Craig Rubano’s new show, Change Partners.

Dedicating it to the music of the dance, Fred and Ginger variety, Rubano has amassed romantic, rhythmic and melodic tunes from the films and Broadway “from the 1910’s to the 1980’s.” The ruggedly good-looking vocalist enjoys a great voice and plays to his audience in the intimate confines of the Hideaway Room with comfort and refinement, masterfully accompanied by Alex Rybeck. With more than seven hundred performances as Marius in Les Miserables behind him, Rubano brings to Change Partners the skills of a polished musical theatre performer. When Craig Rubano sings, he nails the emotional setting of the song and the songwriter’s intent beautifully. His voice is warm and ironic, poignant or commanding as the lyric demands, each number reflecting a dramatic discernment worthy of any number in a Broadway book show. Rubano’s careful preparation and his sensitivity could provide a useful model for singers who wonder what it takes to hold an audience in your hands.