All stories by Ron Fassler on BroadwayStars

Monday, December 2, 2024

Book Report: Ron Fassler’s “The Show Goes On” by Ron Fassler

Theater Pizzazz’s own Ron Fassler’s new book The Show Goes On: Broadway Hirings, Firings and Replacements is available now from STCK Books. A must-have for every theatre lover’s libra…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 09:37PM

Ann Talman Delights with Memories of Elizabeth Taylor in Story and Song by Ron Fassler

The timing of Sunday being World AIDS Day made for a welcome excuse to bring Ann Talman’s one-person cabaret show “Elizabeth Taylor and The Shadow of Her Smile” to Don’t Tell Ma…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 11:28AM
Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Heavenly Heather Headley Sings at 92NY by Ron Fassler

Music Review by Ron Fassler . . . Having seen many solo concerts at the 92NY, I was somewhat taken aback when Heather Headley confidently strolled out to start her show Sunday afternoon wit…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 09:40AM
Tuesday, November 26, 2024

Kevin Chamberlin Flies in NYC Cabaret Debut by Ron Fassler

Review by Ron Fassler . . . Three-time Tony Award nominee Kevin Chamberlin, veteran of ten Broadway shows and numerous off-Broadway and regional productions, made his New York City cabaret …

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 03:47PM
Saturday, November 23, 2024

Joy Behar’s “My First Ex-Husband” Coming to Off-Broadway by Ron Fassler

Joy Behar is taking the plunge as a playwright with MY FIRST EX-HUSBAND, a new Off-Broadway comedy that will begin previews on January 29, 2025 and open February 6 at the newly renovated MMA…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 06:25PM
Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Jennifer Ashley Tepper on “Women Writing Musicals” by Ron Fassler

Interview with Ron Fassler Jennifer Ashley Tepper is not only a knowledgeable theatre historian, Broadway producer, and director of programming at the 54 Below supper club, but also one of t…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 05:51PM

DIFFERENT “COLORED LIGHTS” by Ron Fassler

Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera in “The Rink” (1984). Photo by Martha Swope.November 20, 2024: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler. In 1984, Liza Minnelli co-starred with Chita …

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 12:15PM
Monday, November 18, 2024

Grey Henson Shines as the “Elf” Himself by Ron Fassler

Theatre Review by Ron Fassler . . . The delightful Elf is a 2010 Broadway musical based faithfully on the 2003 film comedy of the same name. A perfect Will Farrell vehicle, Elf tells the…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 10:38AM
Sunday, November 17, 2024

Chips with Charm:  “Maybe Happy Ending” Delights by Ron Fassler

Theatre Review by Ron Fassler . . . If you haven’t heard by now, Maybe Happy Ending, a new meet-cute musical with two robots as its leading characters has just opened to excellent reviews…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 11:37AM
Thursday, November 14, 2024

DYING IS EASY, COMEDY IS HARD by Ron Fassler

Carol Channing and Sid Caesar in 1971’s “Four on a Garden” (Photo by Martha Swope).November 18, 2024: Theatre Yesterday and Today, By Ron Fassler There used to be a certain subset of…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 01:41PM
Wednesday, November 13, 2024

“Broadway Melody” Sings at 54 Below by Ron Fassler

Cabaret Review by Ron Fassler . . . The name Jack Viertel is a somewhat legendary one in Broadway circles as both a former theatre critic, Tony Award-winning producer, and non-fiction author…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 01:43PM
Monday, November 11, 2024

“Skyscraper” Returns After 60 Years to the NY Stage by Ron Fassler

Theatre Review by Ron Fassler . . .  Of all the brassy Broadway musicals that blew through town in the 1960s, Skyscraper is one of the few to receive an original cast recording and then s…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 09:49AM
Friday, November 8, 2024

“AUGUST” HEAT by Ron Fassler

Estelle Parsons as Violet Weston in “August: Osage Country” (2008).November 8, 2024: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler In New York City this week, an unseasonably warm Novemb…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 10:06AM
Monday, November 4, 2024

A STIRRING “RAGTIME” FOR OUR TROUBLED TIMES by Ron Fassler

The company of “Ragtime” at City Center (photo by Joan Marcus).November 4, 2024: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler Last June, as I exited the City Center Encores! production …

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 05:15PM
Wednesday, October 30, 2024

The Gershwins’ “Strike Up the Band” at Carnegie Hall by Ron Fassler

Review by Ron Fassler I’m a longtime fan of MasterVoices, a performing arts organization which continues to thrive after undergoing many changes in its long history. Founded in 1941, it ha…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 06:23PM

“My Favorite Things” About a Certain “Cockeyed Optimist” by Ron Fassler

Review by Ron Fassler . . . Oscar Hammerstein II was a man of many accomplishments, though he will be best remembered for three indisputably monumental things: 1) He wrote Show Boat with J…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 02:41PM
Tuesday, October 29, 2024

“WHAT! YOU HAVEN’T EVEN SEEN ‘MAN OF LA MANCHA’ ONCE?” by Ron Fassler

Advertising used throughout “Man of La Mancha’s” six-year run (1965–1971).October 29, 2024: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler As a teenager and developing theatre nerd of …

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 08:52AM
Monday, October 28, 2024

“Sunset Blvd.” Surprises at Every Twist in the Road by Ron Fassler

Theater Review by Ron Fassler . . . Well, knock me over with a feather. I really liked Jamie Lloyd’s sexually charged, visually exhilarating, and highly conceptualized Sunset Boulevard, n…

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 02:21PM
Sunday, October 27, 2024

The 35th New York Cabaret Convention Night #2 by Ron Fassler

Cabaret Review by Ron Fassler . . . Sponsored by the Mabel Mercer Foundation, the 35th annual New York Cabaret Convention was presented over a three-night period this past week at Rose Hall …

SOURCE: theaterpizzazz.com at 10:57AM
Thursday, October 24, 2024

FLAMING AGNES by Ron Fassler

The incredibly photogenic Lee Remick (1935–91).October 24, 2024: Theatre Yesterday and Today by Ron Fassler In 1982, when John Pielmeier’s Agnes of God was trying out in Boston, the top…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 11:16AM
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

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 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic
TBA: Ragtime