BWW Q&A: Shana Farr & Craig Rubano on ALL THE THINGS YOU ARE at Chelsea Table

For the first time, award-winning concert and stage performers Shanna Farr and Craig Rubano (Les Misérables, The Scarlet Pimpernel), along with acclaimed music director Jon Weber, will bring their voices and theatrical talents together for All the Things You Are: Love, Laughter, and the Music of Jerome Kern, a romantic theatrical journey told through the songs of one of Broadway’s greatest composers. This musical endeavor will debut at Chelsea Table + Stage (152 West 26th Street in Manhattan) for two performances: Monday, October 26 and Thursday, November 19, both shows at 7 pm.

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Tell us a little about your upcoming show.

Shanna Farr: All the Things You Are is a theatrical journey through love, laughter, heartbreak, and all the wonderfully messy things that happen in between, told through the extraordinary music of Jerome Kern. Craig Rubano and I aren’t simply singing a collection of beautiful songs. We’ve created a little musical play in which the lyrics tell the story, and the audience gets to follow a relationship through its many twists and turns. There is romance, disappointment, humor, and, thankfully, hope! We have the brilliant Jon Weber at the piano, with many of the arrangements by Steve Ross. It’s a joy to bring this music to life with two such extraordinary musicians.

Craig Rubano: Our show is different from most cabaret shows, especially “tribute” shows in that, rather than an “and then he wrote” format, we take Jerome Kern compositions, some of the most romantic songs in the Great American Songbook, and allow them, in a select order, to tell the story of a relationship unfolding across the years, from young love to indecision to heartbreak to commitment to growing older together. It’s a theatrical piece told through the glorious music of Kern and some of his nearly 60 lyricist collaborators.

What was the process of putting this show together like?

SF: This show actually began with Steve Ross and me several years ago. We spent time exploring Kern's extraordinary catalog, looking beyond the familiar melodies to discover how the lyrics might connect and tell a larger story. What fascinated me was the possibility of creating something theatrical without a traditional script. The songs themselves become the dialogue. One song sets up an emotion, another complicates it, and suddenly you’re watching a relationship unfold. Bringing Craig into the project opened up some new possibilities and nuances that appeared as we worked through the songs. It has been wonderful having Jon Weber working with us during the creative process, and being able to use some of the great arrangements by Steve Ross makes it even more special.

CR: Everything has evolved as we more fully inhabited the material and as we felt our way through the story that we felt was being told. It’s been extremely collaborative: Steve Ross was a primary force in conceiving of the idea, along with Shana, and then Shana and I, along with Jon Weber have been fine-tuning as we go along—adding things, taking things out, shifting the order, rethinking songs as forgotten verses or alternate lyrics were discovered, selecting a series of keys for the songs that make sense to the ear of the listener. Steve has been so gracious, Jon is just a wonderful collaborator, and Shana is the driving force that has made this process such a pleasure.

What was it like working together?

SF: Craig and I have known each other for a few years, but this is our first time creating a show together. I first worked with him two years ago in a tribute show to Albert Hague produced by Christine Reisner, and when I heard his voice, I knew I wanted to sing with him. He has a beautiful voice, natural theatrical instincts, and he’s a thoughtful and giving performer. What I especially love is that we both approach a song—and this show— as if telling a story. Neither of us is interested in simply standing there and singing beautifully. We want to know who we're singing to, what we’re trying to say, and why it matters. There’s a wonderful give-and-take between us, and I think the audience will feel that.

CR: Shana was the one who approached me about this project, so I, from the start, have felt honored to be a part of it. Not only is she a fine singer and actress, but a savvy social media operator and, because of her own website design and branding business, has played an essential part in getting the word out, getting us organized with online shareable documents, and even teaching me quite a few things about how to use my phone! Oh, and she is also a delight, and my partner and I enjoy her and her family. So, it’s been a pleasure.

What draws you to Jerome Kern?

SF: Kern’s music has this remarkable ability to sound effortless while being incredibly sophisticated. His melodies can be sweeping and romantic one moment, playful and surprising the next. What I love most is the emotional honesty in the songs. Even when the language comes from another era, the feelings are completely recognizable. Falling in love, being disappointed, making a fool of yourself, hoping someone feels the same way—we have’'t changed all that much! And as a singer, Kern gives you so much to work with. His music is glorious to sing, but it’s the marriage of melody and lyric that makes these songs such wonderful vehicles for storytelling.

CR: What first drew me to Kern is the sheer breadth of his songs that populate the Great American Popular Songbook. It’s extraordinary how prolific and how influential he was in the history of songwriting, and he is the literal father of the American Musical. But, as I felt my way into singing the material, I was amazed at the complexity of his melodies and harmonics. Just try singing to yourself something like “I Won’t Dance”—not easy, unless you truly learn it, and that’s true of countless of Kern’s songs: they are instantly memorable, yet difficult to sing through in their entirety without committed immersion. It’s no wonder that everyone from Irving Berlin to George Gershwin to Richard Rodgers to Cole Porter to Stephen Sondheim was directly influenced by Kern: he was their teacher.

Aside from getting ready for this show, what have you been filling your time with lately?

SF: It's been a wonderfully busy year, and my work has taken me in several different creative directions. This summer, I gave the world premiere of James Adler’s Lullaby, a beautiful new work he composed for my voice, cello, and piano, at Carnegie Hal’'s Weill Recital Hall. We also recorded the piece for his new album, and it’s been especially rewarding to be part of bringing a new composition into the world. In addition to preparing for this Kern show, I have some other projects on the burner that will be a big part of 2027 that involve performing, producing, and more story telling.

CR: I have a full time job as a minister, with a congregation in New Jersey, and have a house just north of Princeton near my immediate family, including my parents, so that’s a big part of my life. And then I live in NYC with my partner as well and we have a busy life in the city. This fall, I created and am underwriting a concert series to benefit my congregation as part of celebrating the 70th anniversary of its founding, and, while our Kern show will be the December offering, the other acts in October and November have also required a lot of my time.

Do you have any other upcoming projects or shows you'd like to tell us about?

SF: Craig and I are also appearing with Steve Ross at the Mabel Mercer Foundation's New York Cabaret Convention at Jazz at Lincoln Center on October 15, which is always a wonderful celebration of the Great American Songbook. And we’re delighted to have two performances of All the Things You Are at Chelsea Table + Stage, October 26 and November 19, both at 7 PM, and again in December in New Jersey. Beyond that, I’m continuing my work on some exciting projects ahead in 2027, as well as exploring new concert projects. I love the balance of performing and producing. Each feeds the other in unexpected ways.

CR: In a confluence of good timing, Shana and I are also partnering at this year’s Mabel Mercer Foundation New York Cabaret Convention, and we are singing with none other than the Crown Prince of Cabaret, Steve Ross. So, we’ve been working on a Rodgers and Hart song for that event. And then there’s the Broadway music-based solo follow-up to my Take the Moment concert with my music director Beth Ertz, and directed by Jeff Harnar, which I am hoping to debut in 2027.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

SF: I think there’s something very special about experiencing these songs in a room with other people. We live in a world where so much entertainment comes to us through a screen, but there’s nothing quite like the immediacy of live performance and connecting with the energy in the room—particularly when the songs are about something as universal and unpredictable as love. And if you think you already know Jerome Kern’s music, I hope you’ll come discover it in a slightly different way. You may recognize the songs, but perhaps not quite the story they tell together. I am very much looking forward to bringing this show to life with Craig, with Jon Weber at the piano, and with the audience.

CR: I am so looking forward to the fall dates for All the Things You Are, to being back October 26th and November 19th at Chelsea Table + Stage, the venue where I first sang with Shana for Christine Reisner’s A Tribute to Uncle Albert: The Life and Songs of Albert Hague, and to presenting our show in New Jersey on December 9th at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Monmouth County as part of “Rev. Craig Presents…” It’s a busy, but super fulfilling period in my life, and I am very grateful.

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