Ron Fassler – Medium

Sep 16

ALAN SHAYNE: LIFE, LOVE AND THEATRE

September 16, 2023: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler. There are not a whole lot of people around today who made their Broadway debuts more than seventy-five years ago. So, for someone like me, the chance to have a phone conversation with Alan Shayne resulted in pure pleasure. Once…

6 min read

ALAN SHAYNE: LIFE, LOVE AND THEATRE

6 min read

Jul 17

BARNARD HUGHES: GRAND OLD MAN

July 17, 2023: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler The noted stage, screen and television actor Barnard Hughes was born July 16, 1915, one hundred and eight years ago yesterday. His first role was in 1935 on Broadway in Herself Mrs. Patrick Crowley. His last, in the year 2000…

6 min read

BARNARD HUGHES: GRAND OLD MAN

6 min read

Jul 4

HOWARD DA SILVA: IN CELEBRATION ON THE 4th

July 4, 2023: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler I’ve been writing 1776-themed columns on July 4th for seven years now and, admittedly, it’s been getting harder to find ways to not repeat myself. Then it dawned on me that I have yet to sufficiently delve into the remarkable…

8 min read

HOWARD DA SILVA: IN CELEBRATION ON THE 4th

8 min read

Jun 30

ALAN ARKIN: AN ACTOR OF RARE DIMENSIONS

June 30, 2023: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler Not to be too emphatic about it, but Alan Arkin was among my most favorite actors. King of the hill, top of the heap. Hearing of his death this morning at age eighty-nine has sent me into a memory spin…

6 min read

ALAN ARKIN: AN ACTOR OF RARE DIMENSIONS

6 min read

Jun 24

‘THERE WITH MY LOVE, I’M HOME”

June 24, 2023: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler News that Sheldon Harnick left us yesterday at age ninety-nine swept through my theatre friends’ social media feeds with sadness, but also joyful remembrances. One of the theatre’s most outstanding lyricists, his contributions to the American musical will forever stand…

6 min read

‘THERE WITH MY LOVE, I’M HOME”

6 min read

Jun 21

STOCK OPTIONS

June 21, 2023: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler On this first day of summer, I find myself engaged in Plymouth, Massachusetts directing mostly college students and recent graduates in summer stock. We’re putting up a big old Broadway musical (hey, it qualifies as old — Grease opened on…

5 min read

STOCK OPTIONS

5 min read

Jun 10

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

June 10, 2023: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler Between 41st and 66th streets there are forty-two legit Broadway theatres (this includes the Palace, currently under renovation and scheduled to reopen in June 2024, as well as the Times Square Church, formerly the Mark Hellinger, which may never be…

30 min read

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

30 min read

May 12

PBS’S “GREAT PERFORMANCES” GREAT EVENING OF BROADWAY

May 12, 2023: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler Premiering tonight on PBS is a joyous gala titled Great Performances: Celebrating 50 Years of Broadway’s Best. I was fortunate to have been invited to the live 90-minute taping at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theatre in March, and I…

5 min read

PBS’S “GREAT PERFORMANCES” GREAT EVENING OF BROADWAY

5 min read

May 9

THE LITTLE REVUE THAT COULD: “AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’”

May 9, 2023: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler Forty-five years ago tonight, the musical revue Ain’t Misbehavin’ opened at the Longacre Theatre. Based on music made famous by Thomas (Fats) Waller, a songwriter and performer of the 1920s and 30s, it had begun its journey just a few…

7 min read

THE LITTLE REVUE THAT COULD: “AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’”

7 min read

May 5

THE LUNTS’ FINAL VISIT

May 5, 2023: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler On this date sixty-five years ago this evening, Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne opened in a play which would turn out to be the grand finale of their thirty-five year run as the premier acting team of the American stage…

6 min read

THE LUNTS’ FINAL VISIT

6 min read

Ron Fassler

Ron Fassler

Author, playwright, director, actor, theatre critic and historian, his book, “Up in the Cheap Seats,” is available at Amazon.com.

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