314 stories by "Ron Fassler"
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…
"Sparking greater human connections through musical storytelling, providing unforgettable performances that reflect the world around us and reimagining what the choral experience can be." Th…
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…
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 …
Theater 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 A…
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…
Cabaret 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 than 2…
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…
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, which…
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…
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…
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…
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 Ye…
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…
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…
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 …
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's…
Cabaret 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, a…
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 …
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 film…
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 prot…
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…
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 so…
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…
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 w…
