134 stories from ronfassler.medium.com
Paul Deo Jr as Bertram and Anique Clements as Helena in "All's Well That Ends Well."June 12, 2025: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler
This piece ran yesterday on the Theater P…
Photo taken from my seat in the Front Mezzanine at Radio City Music Hall last night.June 9, 2025: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler.
The Tony Awards have been broadcast on na…
Charles Strouse (1928"2026).May 16, 2025: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler
Composer Charles Strouse died yesterday at the age of ninety-six, just shy of his ninety-seventh birt…
"Buena Vista Social Club" has reason to celebrate with its ten Tony nominations announced today.May 1, 2025: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler
It's always a thrill for me to rea…
A pensive Al Pacino, circa the 1970's, his most defined decade as an actor.April 25, 2025: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler
I've written about him before, but there's always…
Donna McKechnie onstage at 54 Below in her new Sondheim show.April 22, 2025: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler
In her current three-performance engagement at 54 Below, the am…
Chita Rivera and Dick Van Dyke perform "Rosie" in "Bye Bye Birdie"Â (1960).Producer Edward Padula was worried. He liked the show he was working hard to raise money for, but he was taking a…
Eleven of the twelve beauty contestant combatants in JR2 Spotlight Musical Theatre Company's production of "Smile" (Photo by Russ Roland).April 13, 2025: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by R…
George Clooney as Edward R. Murrow in "Good Night, and Good Luck" (Photo: Emilio Madrid).April 5, 2025: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler.
The current state of journalism in …
Brian Stokes Mitchell and Kate Baldwin in 2025's "Love Life" (photo by Joan Marcus).March 28, 2025: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler
You would think that the only musical ev…
Stephen Sondheim (1930"2021). Photo by Richard Avedon.March 22, 2025: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler.
"Oh, if life were made of moments,Even now and then a bad one "…
My ticket stub from 56 years ago (note the tape marks). It used to hang on my bedroom wall.Fifty-six years ago yesterday afternoon, I took my seat as a just-turned twelve-year old in seat…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Artist Linda Fennimore's poster design for "Tru," starring Robert Morse (1989).December 25, 2024: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler.
It's odd that I hold one Christmas memory…
Preston as Harold Hill selling a bill of goods to Barbara Cook as Marian in "The Music Man"Â (1957).Same age as me, Meredith Willson's The Music Man is sixty-seven. My birthday is in March…
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 …
