To follow the likes of Coward and Hart has been a dream of many an aspiring songwriter, and Rubins is no exception to the rule: "When I was younger I did want to go to Broadway. Now the basic thing I wanted to do when I was 18 is no longer a fantasy. I know a lot of people in the business." So Rubins will finally leave the womb of Cambridge to seek a living in New York. "I'd be thrilled--thrilled if I could support myself doing anything involving the arts"--and that includes writing songs, teaching acting, writing arts pieces for magazines, even composing commercial jingles if necessary. Rubins evaluates his position: "I know I'm a solid talent, and I know there are hundreds and thousands of solid talents. The one thing I have more of than others is taste--taste that comes from listening and learning."

Rubins has studied practically every musical written. Like many artists, he finds that the more knowledge he accumulates, the more difficult it is to evoke the muses. "At first," he says, "it's a thrill just to produce a melody, so the songs come tumbling out." Indeed, the early Rubins was prolific. He wrote the 26 songs of "Man's Best Friend" (his first musical--based on "Androcles and the Lion") in a month. Today, Rubins is conscious of everything he's heard before. He says he doesn't want to reproduce other works. "When I hear even three notes that are a familiar figure, I try to rework them."

Recognizing the subjective uncertainty of being an artist, Rubins says, "Sometimes you feel like saying, 'I have nothing, I have no talent, what am I doing?' Unless you're a genius, trying to rest your life on something as tenuous as being a songwriter is hard. So you re-read old reviews, remember what someone said. You can't be objective about yourself; you have to rely on outside reactions."

Thus far, the outside reactions have been good. Presented at the Agassiz theater, "The Devil Touched My Tongue," Rubins's musical based on the life of Dorothy Parker, received enthusiastic reviews. "Suffragette" won Broadcast Music Incorporated's varsity show competition.

Rubins, however, is not entirely satisfied: "'Suffragette' was about everything George and I believed. I guess that's why we tried so hard. The fact that it wasn't the greatest hit ever was a let-down." According to Rubins, "Suffragette" is about "fanaticism, the choice that people have to make between 'I'm going to have a wonderful personal life' and 'I'm going to achieve something.'"

"Many people try to do something, and meanwhile they lose their value as a human being," Rubins says. "'Suffragette' is about a woman who triumphs with her cause, but who is left alone at the end. It's hard to combine work and your own ideals. It's the rare person who can do both."