Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Cabaret Review by Ron Fassler . . . For those of you who only know Norbert Leo Butz from his numerous Broadway and off-Broadway credits in both musicals and straight plays (nineteen of the…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 11:29AMMonday, March 10, 2025
Review by Ron Fassler . . . I was an adolescent-teenager in the 1960s and 70s when Judy Collins was among the most prolific and influential singer-songwriters of her generation. I actively l…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 01:38PMWednesday, March 5, 2025
Jacob Julius Garfinkel, also known as John Garfield (1913–1952).March 5, 2025: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler
Yesterday was my birthday. I share the date with an actor born i…
SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 04:29PMMonday, March 3, 2025
“Sparking greater human connections through musical storytelling, providing unforgettable performances that reflect the world around us and reimagining what the choral experience can be.�…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 12:51PMThursday, February 27, 2025
Gene Hackman in “Under Fire” (1983).February 27, 2025: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler.
Waking up to news of the death of Gene Hackman has been a shocking blow due to circu…
SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 04:23PMMonday, February 24, 2025
Theatre Review by Ron Fassler . . . The plays of the prolific Samuel D. Hunter have one common theme: connection. The Idaho born and reared Hunter, the region in which he sets the majori…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 09:49PMTheater PIzzazz’s Ron Fassler recently had the pleasure of discussing The Jonathan Larson Project with cast member Taylor Iman Jones. Currently in previews at the Orpheum Theatre on Second…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 02:50PMThursday, February 20, 2025
Theatre Review by Ron Fassler . . . In the 1970s, it was extremely difficult for a woman in America to experience any sense of empowerment without first getting some sort of economic or soci…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 10:03PMCabaret Review by Ron Fassler . . . If you’re a theatre fan then you are probably aware of Charles Kirsch’s podcast “Backstage Babble.” The now seventeen-year-old has recorded more …
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 05:20PMTuesday, February 18, 2025
Hal Holbrook on the left and his alter ego, Mark Twain, on the right.February 18, 2025: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler
Yesterday marked 100 years since the birth of Harold Row…
SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 12:18PMMonday, February 17, 2025
Cabaret Review by Ron Fassler . . . It was a pleasure on Saturday evening to catch the final performance of Joaquina Kalukango’s four-night engagement at 54 Below. It was her birthday, whi…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 01:33PMThursday, February 13, 2025
Theatre Review by Ron Fassler . . . Idina Menzel’s career in musical theatre was launched nearly thirty years ago as Maureen in the original company of Rent. A few years after that, she t…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 10:26PMWednesday, February 12, 2025
Theatre Review by Ron Fassler . . . I only got to Ken Ludwig’s 2019 play Dear Jack, Dear Louise last night and since it closes this weekend please take my word that it’s well worth rus…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 06:44PMTuesday, February 11, 2025
Actress Kim Stanley (1925–2001).February 11, 2025: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler
The actress Kim Stanley (born Patricia Reid) was born 100 years ago today. On Broadway in 19…
SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 12:07PMMonday, February 10, 2025
TINKLE, TINKLE . . . “URINETOWN” IS BACK IN TOWN
Stephanie Styles (center) surrounded by member of the “Urinetown” company (photo by Joan Marcus).February 10, 2025: Theatre Yest…
SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 03:08PMThursday, February 6, 2025
Theatre Review by Ron Fassler . . . When the curtain goes up on Lia Romeo’s new play Still, we join two extremely attractive people, Helen and Mark, in mid-conversation at a hotel bar. He…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 08:03PMTuesday, February 4, 2025
Theatre Review by Ron Fassler . . . Starting and ending with the question “What makes a person?,” the new American opera Blind Injustice deals head on with weighty matters of existenti…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 11:49AMMonday, January 27, 2025
Theatre Review by Ron Fassler . . . Gregg Ostrin’s new comedy-drama Kowalski, which opened Monday at the Duke on 42nd Street, falls into a category of plays I call, “The Day Something …
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 09:23PMSunday, January 26, 2025
Theatre Review by Ron Fassler . . . Attending showcases in New York of new works is almost always a mixed bag. Sometimes you see some lovely acting in a not very good play, or sometimes it�…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 02:07PMCabaret Review by Ron Fassler . . . Lee Roy Reams has been a sparkling personality in the world of show biz for more than sixty years. A musical theatre wunderkind, a cabaret performer, and…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 01:40PMThursday, January 23, 2025
George S. Kaufman, as photographed by Edward Steichen (1930).January 23, 2025: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler
It’s a pity that today, for the most part, George S. Kaufman is…
SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 11:04AMSaturday, January 18, 2025
Cary Grant, actor ((1904–1986).Born 121 years ago today, Cary Grant is far from a forgotten figure. His excellent work as an actor could easily have faded from popular culture like many fi…
SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 10:14AMWednesday, January 15, 2025
Theatre Review by Ron Fassler . . . According to the U.S. copyright office, “All works first published or released in the United States before January 1, 1930, have lost their copyright pr…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 09:39PMTuesday, January 7, 2025
Mildred Natwick (on the moon) with the cast of “70, Girls, 70” (1971). Photo by Martha Swope.January 7, 2025: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler.
Between the years 1965 and 19…
SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 12:44PMSaturday, January 4, 2025
Keith Andes and Lucille Ball in a playful moment in “Wildcat” (1960). Photo by Friedman-Abeles.January 4, 2025: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler
When an actor is involved in …
SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 01:39PMSunday, December 29, 2024
Cabaret Review by Ron Fassler . . . Hot on the heels of Norm Lewis’s Christmas show at 54 Below, and just before 2024 reaches its end, comes “Melissa Errico: ‘Twas the Night After C…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 01:52PMSaturday, December 28, 2024
December 28, 2024: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler.
It was after a Wednesday matinee fifty-five years ago that I headed home to Great Neck on the 5:40 train. I had just seen wha…
SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 12:00PMFriday, December 27, 2024
Theater Review by Ron Fassler . . . In 1977, while I was still in college, I can recall reading an announcement that a musical based on the popular 1920s comic strip “Little Orphan Annie�…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 05:00PMWednesday, December 25, 2024
Artist Linda Fennimore’s poster design for “Tru,” starring Robert Morse (1989).December 25, 2024: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler.
It’s odd that I hold one Christmas me…
SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 09:01AMSaturday, December 21, 2024
Cabaret Review by Ron Fassler . . . Norm Lewis has been a New York theatre fixture since 1993 when he made his debut as part of the ensemble in The Who’s Tommy. Since then, he has appear…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 11:41AMFriday, December 20, 2024
Review by Ron Fassler... American Musical Theatre lovers absolutely need to see Audra McDonald as Rose in the new revival of "Gypsy."
The post Everything’s Coming Up Audra: “Gypsy” is…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 12:03AM 
