Ron Fassler – Medium

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

Apr 15

“THE PHANTOM’S” FINAL BOW

April 15, 2023: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler Tomorrow, after thirty-five years, the epic run of The Phantom of the Operawill come to an end. It opened January 26, 1988 at the Majestic Theatre and except for the pandemic closure, when it suspended performances between March 12, 2020…

8 min read

“THE PHANTOM’S” FINAL BOW

8 min read

Apr 11

BEFORE “WICKED” GIVES ITS 7,486th PERFORMANCE, A FEW NOTES ON ITS EARLIEST ONES

April 11, 2023: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler Tonight, Wicked will become the 4th longest-running production in Broadway history, surpassing Andrew Lloyd Webber and T.S. Elliott's Cats which, as we all know, was once billed as "Now and Forever." It's quite a milestone for the Stephen Schwartz-Winnie Holzman…

9 min read

BEFORE “WICKED” GIVES ITS 7,486th PERFORMANCE, A FEW NOTES ON ITS EARLIEST ONES

9 min read

Apr 8

THE DEATH AND LIFE OF MICHAEL BENNETT

April 8, 2023: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler Had he lived, today would mark Michael Bennett’s 80th birthday. He died in Tucson, Arizona in 1987 from complications caused by AIDS at the age of forty-four. When you consider that at eighty, Mike Nichols won his 7th Tony Award…

7 min read

THE DEATH AND LIFE OF MICHAEL BENNETT

7 min read

Mar 31

MARCH 31, 1943: “OKLAHOMA! OPENS

March 31, 2023: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler Tonight, marks the 80th anniversary of the opening night at the St. James Theatre of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! A musical classic of the first order, it’s hard today to measure the impact it had on audiences back in 1943…

7 min read

MARCH 31, 1943: “OKLAHOMA! OPENS

7 min read

Mar 30

“A CHORUS LINE” FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

March 30, 2023: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler We’ve all seen it: it’s an advertising image as familiar as two yellow cat eyes or two witches. It’s the row of dancers standing in a straight line that has been used for just about every A Chorus Line produced…

6 min read

“A CHORUS LINE” FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

6 min read

Mar 20

IT’S SO NICE TO HAVE YOU BACK WHERE YOU BELONG: “DEAR WORLD” RETURNS

March 20, 2023: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler The plea for a “dear world to get well soon” only took fifty-four years and it may have been worth the wait. In its all-too brief Encores! run over the past week, this underperformed Jerry Herman star-vehicle is a reminder…

5 min read

IT’S SO NICE TO HAVE YOU BACK WHERE YOU BELONG: “DEAR WORLD” RETURNS

5 min read

Mar 18

HAPPY 96TH, JOHN KANDER

March 18, 2023: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler Today is the 96th birthday of the legendary composer John Kander, who is still doing what he does best: writing musicals. His New York, New York, an adaptation of the 1977 film of the same name, will begin previews March…

8 min read

HAPPY 96TH, JOHN KANDER

8 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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