All stories by Ron Fassler on BroadwayStars

Monday, October 21, 2024

“What Doesn’t Kill You” is Food for the Soul by Ron Fassler

Theatre Review by Ron Fassler . . . Actor and Playwright James Hindman’s What Doesn’t Kill You, which recently opened at the 59E59 Theaters complex in midtown, has just been extended th…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 10:51AM

Jeff Harnar Sings Sammy Cahn by Ron Fassler

Cabaret Review by Ron Fassler . . . The lyric writers of popular song have never attracted nearly the spotlight the way composers do in receiving the lion’s share of attention. As Ira Gers…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 10:14AM
Saturday, October 19, 2024

“Putnam County” Spells Success in Washington, D.C. by Ron Fassler

Theater Review by Ron Fassler . . . It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly twenty years since The 25th Annual Putnam Country Spelling Bee opened on Broadway. It arrived during one of th…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 10:00PM
Wednesday, October 16, 2024

THICK AS “THIEVES” by Ron Fassler

Richard Mulligan with his two leading ladies: Valerie Harper and Marlo Thomas in “Thieves” (1974).October 16, 2024: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler. For those with a sense o…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 11:45AM
Monday, October 14, 2024

“AN EVENING WITH KELLI O’HARA” AT 92Y IS CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION by Ron Fassler

Music Review By Ron Fassler . . . It’s hard to believe that Kelli O’Hara, an ingenue’s ingenue if there ever was one, first made her Broadway debut close to twenty-five years ago. Sinc…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 12:50PM

“MARILYN MAYE BY REQUEST” AT 54 BELOW by Ron Fassler

Cabaret Review by Ron Fassler . . . All is right with the world when Marilyn Maye is in town and performing in a small room packed with her fans. And at ninety-six, she still has the charm…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 10:54AM
Thursday, October 10, 2024

“Our Town” Returns to Broadway by Ron Fassler

Theatre Review by Ron Fassler . . .  Picture the surprise gasp from the audience as the curtain rose on Our Town at its premiere in 1938. The sight of there being no scenery must have shock…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 10:50PM
Wednesday, October 9, 2024

“The Counter” Serves Up a Tasty Treat by Ron Fassler

Theater Review by Ron Fassler . . . David Cromer is one of the most in-demand directors in the theatre. With his choice of projects his for the asking, when a play arrives with his name atta…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 10:05PM

FEEL THE STURM AND DRANG IN THE AIR: WHEN “LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS” WENT SUPER-SIZE by Ron Fassler

Hunter Foster and Kerry Butler in “Little Shop of Horrors” (2003).October 9, 2024: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler Amongst the legendary stories of Broadway shows that have…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 12:17PM
Tuesday, October 8, 2024

Goldie Dver Sings Anthony Newley  by Ron Fassler

Cabaret Review by Ron Fassler . . . When I was a boy interested in musicals, the scores Anthony Newley wrote (with Leslie Bricusse) for Stop the World I Want to Get Off and The Roar of th…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 09:00AM
Sunday, October 6, 2024

Funny Is As Funny Does: “The Big Gay Jamboree.” by Ron Fassler

October 6, 2024 Theater Review by Ron Fassler . . . It’s big (well, not that big). It’s gay (it’s very gay). And if a log line like “Stacey woke up in some b*tch ass Music Man …

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 10:53PM
Saturday, October 5, 2024

“The Hills of California” Provides a Jolt to the New Broadway Season by Ron Fassler

October 5, 2024 Theatre Review by Ron Fassler . . . If you like a play that starts slowly and takes its time setting up characters and the world in which they live, then builds inexorably to…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 06:04PM
Sunday, September 29, 2024

ANN KITTREDGE: “ROMANTIC NOTIONS” AT CHELSEA TABLE + STAGE by Ron Fassler

Cabaret Review by Ron Fassler . . .  This past spring, song stylist Ann Kittredge released an album titled “Romantic Notions,” her musings on the theme of love covering more than a do…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 10:04AM
Friday, September 27, 2024

“FATHERLAND” BRINGS THE PAIN OF JANUARY 6 TO LIFE by Ron Fassler

Theatre Review by Ron Fassler . .  . Conceived and directed by Stephen Sachs, Fatherland is a powerful verbatim play that is currently at New York City Center Stage II through November 2…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 09:23AM
Thursday, September 26, 2024

RENEE KATZ IS “LOST IN HIS ARMS” AT DON’T TELL MAMA by Ron Fassler

Cabaret Review by Ron Fassler . . .  Cabaret regular Renee Katz is back with a new show at Don’t Tell Mama titled “Lost in His Arms.” It doesn’t take much of a sleuth to figure…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 11:19AM
Wednesday, September 25, 2024

CHEYENNE JACKSON: “SIGNS OF LIFE” AT 54 BELOW by Ron Fassler

Cabaret Review by Ron Fassler . . . I’ve never had the pleasure until the other night at 54 Below of seeing Cheyenne Jackson onstage. Well aware of his talents, and having seen him in such…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 08:10PM

“The Ghost of John McCain”: A Haunting We Will Go by Ron Fassler

Theatre Review by Ron Fassler . . .  Political satire isn’t an easy thing to pull off. Ask the folks at Saturday Night Live who’ve been doing it for fifty years (and those are just sk…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 08:44AM
Tuesday, September 24, 2024

“Table 17” Serves up a Hearty Meal by Ron Fassler

Theatre Review by Ron Fassler . . .  If you aren’t aware of who Kara Young is by now you are missing out on one of the best actresses currently working in the theatre. And man does she wo…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 01:02PM
Wednesday, September 18, 2024

“See What I Wanna See” Revived Off-Broadway by Ron Fassler

Theater Review by Ron Fassler . . . See What I Wanna See is a musical written by composer/lyricist Michael John LaChiusa, first produced at the Public Theatre in 2005. Inspired by the stori…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 10:23PM
Tuesday, September 17, 2024

In Support of 54 Below, an Evening with LaChanze by Ron Fassler

Cabaret Review by Ron Fassler… In 2023, the fabled supper club 54 Below became a non-profit organization. Since that time, its longstanding goals of expanding the art of cabaret have taken…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 12:01PM
Thursday, September 12, 2024

Musical About Parenting Needs Some Adult Supervision by Ron Fassler

Dwayne Washington and McKenna OGrodnik in "That Parenting Musical." The post Musical About Parenting Needs Some Adult Supervision appeared first on Theater Pizzazz.

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 11:15PM
Tuesday, September 10, 2024

THERE’S A GIANT IN THE SKY by Ron Fassler

James Earl Jones (1931–2024).September 10, 2024: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler James Earl Jones, who died yesterday at ninety-three, was not only the first dramatic actor to…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 09:18AM
Friday, August 30, 2024

“Isaac Mizrahi: A Brief History” Brings Cabaret & Challah Braiding to 54 Below by Ron Fassler

Cabaret review by Ron Fassler … While attending Isaac Mizrahi’s new show at 54 Below, a well-known Shakespeare quote came to mind. In the scene from Hamlet where Polonius is chatting w…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 04:49PM
Wednesday, August 14, 2024

“ONCE UPON A MATTRESS” PILES ON THE JOKES by Ron Fassler

Theater Review by Ron Fassler. . . City Centers Encores! scored a winner with its 2022 staging of the distorted fairy tales created by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine for Into the Woods…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 03:54PM
Friday, August 9, 2024

NIXON QUITS! by Ron Fassler

August 9, 2024: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler Richard Nixon address the nation on August 8, 1974, the night he resigned the presidency.“So it’s really happening,” smiled…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 09:37AM
Saturday, July 13, 2024

BLACKOUT! by Ron Fassler

July 13, 2024: Theatre Yesterday and Today Forty-seven years ago tonight, on July 13, 1977 at exactly 9:29 p.m., New York City suffered an electrical blackout that lasted into afternoon the…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 10:06AM
Thursday, July 4, 2024

LIZ CALLAWAY & JASON GRAAE: HAPPILY EVER LAUGHTER by Ron Fassler

Cabaret Review By Ron Fassler… I’m happy to report that old friends and top-notch singers and performers Liz Callaway and Jason Graae are in fine form at 54 Below this holiday week i…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 02:11PM
Monday, June 24, 2024

“TITANIC” AT CITY CENTER BRINGS UP TITANIC EMOTIONS by Ron Fassler

“Titanic” at City Center “Encores!” (photo by Joan Marcus).June 24, 2024: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler As someone who saw all fifteen Tony-eligible Broadway musicals…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 02:45PM

“N/A” SPICES UP POLITICAL DISCOURSE AT LINCOLN CENTER by Ron Fassler

Starring Holland Taylor and Ana Villafañe, N/A is a new play by first-timer Mario Correa that is having its world premiere at the Mitzi Newhouse Theatre at Lincoln Center. Correa, self-d…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 01:20PM
Friday, June 21, 2024

ON THE HAUNTED GHOSTS AT STEPHEN SONDHEIM’S “FOLLIES” IN CONCERT by Ron Fassler

A repurposed logo of David Byrd’s original poster for “Follies” for the one-night only concert at Carnegie Hall, June 20, 2024.June 21, 2024: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fass…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 01:34PM
Monday, June 17, 2024

Gavin Lee Sings Fred Astaire by Ron Fassler

Cabaret review by Ron Fassler . . . . Gavin Lee must know that he can’t really go wrong musically by saluting songs first introduced by Fred Astaire, right?  Though naturally best known…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 01:56AM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 15, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic