314 stories by "Ron Fassler"
If this cover is unfamiliar, it's the British edition which, to my mind, is far superior in look and feel to its American counterpart.December 27, 2022: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by RonÂ…
Robert Preston as Professor Harold Hill informing the denizens of River City they've got "Trouble" (1957).December 20, 2022: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler
A day late, and a …
December 13, 2022: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler
The Canadian postage stamp created in his honor.Christopher Plummer was born on this date in 1929. He died in February of…
As an inveterate theatergoer since the age of twelve, I've chronicled in these columns and elsewhere about the days when I saw shows on a weekly basis in the late 60s and early 70s. I've als…
Angela Lansbury (1925"2022).In yesterday's column, Angela Lansbury's whirlwind of activity in the 1970s was explored. Not only did she perform on Broadway and the West End, as well as work i…
By Ron Fassler
Angela Lansbury as Rose in "Gypsy"Â (1974).In yesterday's column, I chronicled the late Angela Lansbury's first twenty years as a film, television and stage actress (you …
By Ron Fassler
As I take to the keyboard to write a tribute to Angela Lansbury, who passed away yesterday five days shy of her 97th birthday, I'm surprised I had never gotten around to do…
Robert Preston and Mary Martin as Michael and Agnes in "I Do! I Do!"Â (1966).It's not hyperbole to say that when I saw Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt's two-character musical I Do! I Do! that…
NY Times ad for the CBS televised opening night concert at Philharmonic Hall, the inauguration of Lincoln Center, 9.23.62.Is there anyone that doesn't get a thrill from standing in front …
Throughout my life, I've always been intrigued by the notion of time travel. It could have something to do with growing up in the 1960s when all sorts of media were obsessed with the idea. U…
Paul Scofield as Sir Thomas More in the film of "A Man for All Seasons"Â (1966).The title of Garry O'Connor's 2002 biography Paul Scofield: An Actor for All Seasons seemed an appropriate o…
Susan Johnson (drawn by Hirschfeld) with Eddie Foy Jr., James Gannon and Art Lund in "Donnybrook" (1961).She only appeared in five musicals that were recorded. Yet if you are someone like me…
Howard Da Silva (Ben Franklin) and William Daniels (John Adams) in "1776" (1969). Photo by Martha Swope.Can't let July 4th go by without my annual tribute to the musical 1776, a brilliant…
Self-portrait of Al Hirschfeld at his drafting table in his Koken barber chair.The artist Al Hirschfeld, a theatrical treasure of the highest order, was born 119 years ago today. Chronicl…
On this day twenty-two years ago, a new production of Shakespeare's Macbeth opened at the Music Box Theatre. Directed by former director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Terry Hands, it was…
Jaquel Spivey, John-Michael Lyles and James Jackson, Jr. at the first Broadway preview curtain call for "A Strange Loop" (Photo: Jeenah Moon for The New York Times).I've been handicapping…
Charles Strouse and Lee Adams' "The Telephone Hour" from "Bye, Bye Birdie"Â (1960).Composer Charles Strouse was born on this date ninety-four years ago. His more than thirty stage musicals…
During the height of my teenage theatergoing years, which occurred between 1969 and 1973, I was never happier than when I would pore over the New York Times' ABC's Directory in order to plan…
Julie Andrews singing "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?" at the recording session for "My Fair Lady"Â (1956).Having listened to a steady stream of Broadway original cast recordings over the past fi…
Harold Prince, victorious with Tony #20 for "Showboat," with Gregory Hines (1995).Now that the 2022 Tony Awards nominations have been announced and campaigning is in full swing, as usual,…
Robert Morse as J. Pierrepont Finch in "How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying"Â (1961).It's with a heavy heart I attempt to put into words what Robert Morse meant to me as an ac…
It's a funny thing about an actor's resume: they're never complete and always a work in progress. In the constant act of selling themselves, an actor's career needs continual updating. What'…
The Original Broadway Cast Recording of "I Do! I Do!" released in 1966.As young kids, I'm sure most Broadway loving-types have all had the same experience. Long before our vocabularies ma…
That tiny slip of paper every theatregoer knows (btw, Christian Dante White was terrific).A common question I see posted from time to time on theatre blogs asks what the difference is betwee…
Vintage Tony Award, prior to its eventual pedestal.Okay, there was never any such thing as a 1944 Tonys. But the awards junkie in me had this thought and decided, for the fun of it, to attem…
