Thursday, July 24, 2025
By Ron Fassler . . . Last October, 2nd Avenue's Orpheum Theatre hosted The Big Gay Jamboree, a crazy spoof of Broadway musicals which I thought was a hoot and a half. Now, to challenge…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 11:27PM[SHARE]Friday, July 11, 2025
Review by Ron Fassler . . . When the film Heathers opened nationwide in March of 1989, George H. W. Bush had recently begun what would be his single term as President, Madonna's "Like …
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 01:03PM[SHARE]Thursday, July 10, 2025
By Ron Fassler . . . Having worked in the theatre for the past 50 years, Frank Verlizzo is one of the highest-ranking members of an elite circle. As the designer of more than 300 posters, hi…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 12:22PM[SHARE]Tuesday, July 8, 2025
By Ron Fassler . . . For those in the know, eighteen-year-old Charles Kirsch has been producing podcasts devoted to Broadway since the age of twelve. His "Backstage Babble," named for …
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 05:12PM[SHARE]Friday, July 4, 2025
The 1969 marquee for "1776" in its original production at the 46th Street Theatre (now the Richard Rodgers).July 4, 2025: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler.
This is a re-working…
SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 02:33PM[SHARE]Thursday, July 3, 2025
By Ron Fassler . . . When Laurence Luckinbill made his Broadway debut in 1963 as a replacement in Robert Bolt's A Man for All Seasons he was twenty-nine years old and had already…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 05:41PM[SHARE]Sunday, June 29, 2025
Frank Loesser (1910"1969).June 29, 2025: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler
One hundred fifteen years ago today, composer-lyricist Frank Loesser was born on the Upper West Side o…
SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 01:00PM[SHARE]Thursday, June 26, 2025
Review by Alex Eichholz . . . With Emmanuelle Mattana's new play Trophy Boys, Danya Taymor once again cements herself as a whisperer for the Gen Z voice in theatre. Fresh off the direc…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 11:18AM[SHARE]Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Advertisement for the one-night only "Hello, Dolly" in Concert at Carnegie Hall.June 24, 2025: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler.
Last night at Carnegie Hall, those in attend…
SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 06:47PM[SHARE]Friday, June 20, 2025
By Ron Fassler . . . Actor-Director Brandon J. Dirden has made something of a home for himself at Red Bank's Two River Theatre over the past decade or so. A New Jersey resident himself, he h…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 01:03PM[SHARE]Thursday, June 19, 2025
Review by Ron Fassler . . . The first glimpse that this was going to be a special night at 54 Below honoring the 50th anniversary of the original production of Chicago was that everyon…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 07:05PM[SHARE]Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Review by Ron Fassler . . . "I'm booked and blessed," shouted Stephanie Pope in a joyous moment during her autobiographical show at 54 Below Tuesday night. Having taken a self-im…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 12:39PM[SHARE]Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Review by Alex Eichholz . . . With no background reading on its subject matter or any expectations, Jordan Tannahill's new play Prince Faggot, which opened tonight at Playwrights Horizons…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 09:06PM[SHARE]Friday, June 13, 2025
Review by Samuel L. Leiter . . . No, Jean Smart, the star of Call Me Izzy, now at Broadway's Studio 54, does not portray a Borough Park yeshivah boy in this one-woman play. The Izzy she p…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 09:15AM[SHARE]Thursday, June 12, 2025
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…
SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 10:52AM[SHARE]Wednesday, June 11, 2025
Review by Ron Fassler . . . The recently closed Broadway production of Othello, which starred Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, had been charging the record-breaking top ticket price…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 04:52PM[SHARE]Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Review by Ron Fassler . . . If someone was in the mood this week on June 9th to celebrate Cole Porter's birthdate, then if they headed to West 44th Street in Manhattan, their wish would have…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 11:06PM[SHARE]Monday, June 9, 2025
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…
SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 03:49PM[SHARE]Tuesday, June 3, 2025
Review by Ron Fassler . . . For more than forty years, playwright Donald Margulies has been delighting audiences with thought-provoking plays on a range of subjects and issues. The recipient…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 09:01PM[SHARE]Monday, June 2, 2025
By Ron Fassler . . . Satirical comedy has been around a long time (Plautus, anybody?) which often means contemporizing Golden Oldies is essential so we can be in on the jokes. Of late, playw…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 09:01PM[SHARE]Thursday, May 22, 2025
Performing in a cabaret setting can be accomplished successfully in a variety of ways. With someone like Marilyn Maye, who's put in the hours and is still going strong at ninety-seven, you g…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 03:07PM[SHARE]Tuesday, May 20, 2025
By Ron Fassler . . . For someone who has put themselves front and center entertaining audiences for nearly fifty years, the question "Who is Richard Skipper?" still has an air of mystery abo…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 09:27AM[SHARE]Friday, May 16, 2025
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…
SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 11:29AM[SHARE]Saturday, May 3, 2025
Review by Ron Fassler . . . For more than a few years now, scenic design on Broadway has been obsessed with video projections. And it's here to stay, too. Sometimes the effects are tacky, as…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 01:37PM[SHARE]Friday, May 2, 2025
Interview by Ron Fassler . . . Though Ann Kittredge is well known as a consummate cabaret singer, she is also a lifelong performing artist who has performed on Broadway and Off-Broa…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 04:06PM[SHARE]Thursday, May 1, 2025
"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…
SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 01:27PM[SHARE]Monday, April 28, 2025
Review by Ron Fassler . . . On the wings of angels comes The Billy Stritch Trio for a six-performance engagement at Birdland Jazz Club. Joined by Michael O'Brien on bass and Eric Halvorson o…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 06:26PM[SHARE]Review by Ron Fassler . . . At the age of twelve, I began weekly sojourns into Manhattan from my home on Long Island with the mission of seeing every Broadway show possible. Keeping strict r…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 12:15PM[SHARE]Sunday, April 27, 2025
Review by Ron Fassler . . . With the Tony Awards deadline fast upon us, two final shows are slipping in under the wire, Dead Outlaw and Real Women Have Curves, both opening tonight …
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 09:49PM[SHARE]Friday, April 25, 2025
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…
SOURCE: ronfassler.medium.com at 09:50AM[SHARE]Thursday, April 24, 2025
By Ron Fassler . . . Having made her Broadway debut at the age of eight as a replacement in the title role of Matlida at the Shubert Theatre, actress Fina Strazza has returned to…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 01:20PM[SHARE]Loading more stories…
