by Ron Fassler   My teenage years as a kid on Long Island, revolved around summers by the pool or at the ocean listening to songs on the radio. Yes, radio. This was when transistors were the thing, even before a boom box, and long before the Walkman and today’s devices that make...

  An Exploration of the Works of Samuel Beckett Conceived and Performed by Bill Irwin     By Ron Fassler   It is not hyperbole to claim Samuel Beckett as one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. A poet, novelist and playwright, his most notable works...

    by Ron Fassler   Of the legendary musical theatre actors who made their New York stage debuts as far back as nearly sixty years ago, we must be grateful that Anita Gillette is not only one of the most enduring, but still going as strong as ever. Beginning as a replacement...

      By Ron Fassler   Amanda Green is a force to be reckoned with. Not only is she a Tony nominated composer-lyricist; an actress; a writer and a song stylist, but she also possesses the stage presence of a Mrs. Maisel. In her bi-monthly show at Birdland Sunday night, she...

  By Ron Fassler   As a seasoned theatregoer, I freely admit that I am new to immersive theatre; which to those similarly uninitiated, features no theatre, no stage, and instead takes its audience members in small groups that travel to different locations in order to experience...

    By Ron Fassler   I first saw Melissa Errico and Ryan Silverman on stage together in 2014, when they paired opposite one another as Clara and Giorgio in the Classic Stage Company revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Passion. I then had the good fortune to see them...

    by Ron Fassler   I recently had the chance to chat with Manu Narayan, currently playing the role of Robbie in Gettin’ the Band Back Together, the new musical which has its official opening on August 13 at the Belasco Theatre. With a book by Ken Davenport, and music...

  By Ron Fassler   The choice of Maggie Bofill’s Devil of Choice to launch the Labyrinth Theater Company’s 25thseason is an odd one. This world premiere play about an adulterous triangle between a man, his wife and his mistress, is one we have seen many times before, and often...

    By Ron Fassler   Letters Live began life in 2013 in the United Kingdom as a unique theatrical event, with a purpose to entertain, as well as to offer some of its proceeds to benefit local literacy charities. Billed as “a celebration of the enduring power of the humble...

      By Ron Fassler   On May 8th, in the second of three shows at Feinstein’s/54 Below, in its “Classic American Songbook Series,” Deborah Grace Winer  presented “A Jerome Robbins’ Centennial Concert,” dedicated to musicals associated with the esteemed...

    By Ron Fassler   Backed by a superb 17-piece band, Michael Feinstein was at his customary best last night, in the first of two evenings being presented at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s glorious Appel Room, devoted to the song chanteuse Lena Horne. Offering wonderful stories,...

    By Ron Fassler     Having seen my first Broadway musical as a child in 1967, I have always been sorry that I missed the 1968 musical The Happy Time. With a score by John Kander and Fred Ebb, its original cast album is one that makes you wonder why the show didn’t last...

  By Ron Fassler   If a solo cabaret show is to be devoted to a lyricist who came out of what is now lovingly known as “Broadway’s Golden Age” (1943-1959), you can’t do much better than to craft such an evening on the works of Alan Jay Lerner. And when that soloist is a lovely...

    By Ron Fassler   Though mostly known as a novelist and short story writer, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr (1922-2007) wrote a few plays in his lifetime, one of which, Happy Birthday, Wanda June, had its premiere off-Broadway in the winter of 1970. Proving popular with audiences (as well...

  By Ron Fassler   “Well hello” are the first words spoken by Abigail Bengson, co-host and narrator of The Lucky Ones, the world premiere musical she has written with her husband Shaun Bengson, and with whom she shares the stage the entire evening. The program lists the playwright...

    By Ron Fassler   Some plays are written and some are constructed. If that doesn’t make perfect sense, seeing the Keen Company’s revival of A.R. Gurney’s 1993 comedy Later Life, might make the point clearer. Gurney, who died last June at age eighty-six, was a prolific...

Opening in Theatres March 16     By Ron Fassler   There isn’t a shot fired until seventy minutes into the war drama Journey’s End, British director Saul Dibb’s new film version of R.C. Sherriff’s old play. First produced ninety years ago in London, and then in New York, its...