All stories by Ron Fassler on BroadwayStars

Saturday, January 28, 2023

REPLACEMENTS: GUTS & GLORY by Ron Fassler

Tovah Feldshuh (left) and Lea Michele (right) as Mrs. Brice and Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl” (2022).Theatre Yesterday and Today, January 28, 2023, by Ron Fassler. When an original cast …

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 10:42AM
Tuesday, January 17, 2023

HAPPY 92nd TO JAMES EARL JONES by Ron Fassler

James Earl Jones, born on this date, January 17, 1931.January 17, 2023: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler James Earl Jones, who turns ninety-two today, was the first dramatic act…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 11:31AM
Tuesday, January 10, 2023

“IT’S AN HONOR JUST TO BE NOMINATED” by Ron Fassler

January 10, 2023: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler Though the Tony Awards have been handed out since 1948, the citing of nominees didn’t enter the mix until 1956. Since then, a…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 09:28AM
Friday, January 6, 2023

A COUPLE OF “ODD COUPLE” STORIES by Ron Fassler

Walter Matthau as Oscar and Art Carney as Felix in “The Odd Couple” (1965).January 6, 2023: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler “Can two divorced men share an apartment witho…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 07:56AM
Monday, January 2, 2023

THE STORY OF “THE PHILADELPHIA STORY” by Ron Fassler

Frank Fenton, Joseph Cotton, Katharine Hepburn, Van Heflin and Shirley Booth in “The Philadelphia Story” (1939). Photo by Vandamm.January 2, 2023: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron F…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 10:52AM
Sunday, January 1, 2023

HAPPY NEW YEAR by Ron Fassler

Cole Porter (photo by Horst P. Horst).January, 1, 2023: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler In the spirit of ringing in the new year, here’s a reprise of a column I previously wr…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 11:50AM
Tuesday, December 27, 2022

SONDHEIM ON THE OTHER GUYS (AND A DOLL OR TWO). 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 Ron…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 12:35PM
Tuesday, December 20, 2022

IF YOU DON’T MIND MY SAYING SO by Ron Fassler

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, an…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 12:25PM
Tuesday, December 13, 2022

PLUMBING THE DEPTHS OF CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER by Ron Fassler

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 202…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 07:24AM
Saturday, December 10, 2022

BROADWAY 50 YEARS AGO TODAY by Ron Fassler

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…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 01:06PM
Friday, October 14, 2022

LEGEND: THE CAREER OF ANGELA LANSBURY, PART 3 by Ron Fassler

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 …

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 12:50PM
Thursday, October 13, 2022

LEGEND: THE CAREER OF ANGELA LANSBURY, PART 2 by Ron Fassler

By Ron Fassler Angela Lansbury as Rose in “Gypsy” (1974).In yesterday’s column, I chronicled the late Angela Lansbury’s first twenty years as a film, television and stage actress (…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 02:56PM
Wednesday, October 12, 2022

LEGEND: THE CAREER OF ANGELA LANSBURY by Ron Fassler

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…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 10:43PM
Tuesday, October 11, 2022

I DID! I DID! by Ron Fassler

Robert Preston and Mary Martin as Michael and Agnes in “I Do! I Do!” (1966).It’s not hyperbole to say that when I saw Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt’s two-character musical I Do! I Do…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 05:12PM
Friday, September 23, 2022

THE CENTER HOLDS (LINCOLN, THAT IS) by Ron Fassler

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 …

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 11:43AM
Tuesday, September 6, 2022

THE TIME MACHINE by Ron Fassler

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.…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 06:02PM
Friday, July 8, 2022

PAUL SCOFIELD: AN ACTOR FOR ALL SEASONS by Ron Fassler

Paul Scofield as Sir Thomas More in the film of “A Man for All Seasons” (1966).The title of Garry O’Connor’s 2002 biography Paul Scofield: An Actor for All Seasons seemed an appropr…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 09:23AM
Tuesday, July 5, 2022

SUSAN JOHNSON: THE WOMAN WITH THE BIG VOICE by Ron Fassler

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 lik…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 12:50PM
Monday, July 4, 2022

1776: DANIELS, DA SILVA & PETER HUNT by Ron Fassler

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 brill…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 11:01AM
Tuesday, June 21, 2022

NINA’S DAD by Ron Fassler

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. Chroniclin…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 11:56AM
Wednesday, June 15, 2022

THE SCOTTISH PLAY by Ron Fassler

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 w…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 03:27PM
Friday, June 10, 2022

AND THE WINNER IS… by Ron Fassler

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 handicap…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 12:00PM
Tuesday, June 7, 2022

LOT OF LIVIN’ TO DO by Ron Fassler

Charles Strouse and Lee Adams’ “The Telephone Hour” from “Bye, Bye Birdie” (1960).Composer Charles Strouse was born on this date ninety-four years ago. His more than thirty stage …

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 09:26AM
Thursday, June 2, 2022

50 YEARS AGO ON BROADWAY by Ron Fassler

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 …

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 11:46AM
Friday, May 20, 2022

WHAT MAKES A CAST ALBUM PERFORMANCE GREAT? by Ron Fassler

Julie Andrews singing “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?” at the recording session for “My Fair Lady” (1956).Having listened to a steady stream of Broadway original cast recordings over the…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 01:44PM
Monday, May 16, 2022

IT’S TONY SEASON by Ron Fassler

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 usua…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 08:53AM
Thursday, April 21, 2022

BOBBY BABY BOBBY BUBI BOBBY by Ron Fassler

Robert Morse as J. Pierrepont Finch in “How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” (1961).It’s with a heavy heart I attempt to put into words what Robert Morse meant to me as a…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 01:45PM
Tuesday, April 12, 2022

AN ACTOR’S LIFE IN PLAYBILL by Ron Fassler

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 updatin…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 11:59AM
Friday, April 1, 2022

CHILDREN WILL LISTEN by Ron Fassler

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 vocabularie…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 09:11AM
Wednesday, March 16, 2022

“THE BEDROCK OF BROADWAY” UNDERSTUDIES, STANDBYS & SWINGS by Ron Fassler

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…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 08:35AM
Friday, March 11, 2022

THE 1944 TONY AWARDS by Ron Fassler

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…

SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 09:19AM