Casual notes on show-biz books, memoirs and studies, dust gatherers, and hot off the presses.
Book Review by Samuel L. Leiter . . .
40th Edition.
[Please note that, unless something unexpected interferes, Leiter Looks at Books will be taking a hiatus while I work on my next book. If all goes as planned, the column will return in February. The present review represents the 40th posted here weekly since the column launched this past spring. Thanks to Joe Clarke for his editorial support. If you have a suggestion for a book you think should be covered, please contact me at slleiter@gmail.com. And, yes, Al Pacino’s Sonny is on my nightstand, waiting for Leiter’s look.]
Ron Fassler. The Show Goes On: Broadway Hirings, Firings & Replacements. London, Montclair, New York: STCK Books, 2024. 451pp.
As I noted here recently when talking about Ken Bloom’s Show & Tell, books of theatrical anecdotes comprise a rather extensive genre. And why not? Gossip columnists long ago discovered that everyone loves to learn about the foibles, flubs, and fabulousness of famous personalities. One of the first things many of us ask when meeting someone who’s been in close contact with, let’s say, a big star, is, what are they really like? Or, with the rumors that always float to the surface with every show, from flops to hits, we want to know what went on in the making or performance of such and such a show. Nowadays, with an all-devouring media maw frothing for material, the on and offline sources for such stories are endless.
The latest, and, for my money, most well-informed, useful, and appealingly composed collection of theatrical anecdotes is Ron Fassler’s just published The Show Goes On: Broadway Hirings, Firings & Replacements. In the interest of full disclosure, I admit that Ron is a friend and colleague. He’s a professional actor and director, a critic for Theater Pizzazz, writes an online column called “Theatre Yesterday and Today,” and authored a sweetheart book of reminiscences, Up in the Cheap Seats. But, before I tell you why his new venture is so delicious, let me say up front that, friend or not, it could have been even better. I’ll get to that later on.
The Show Goes On, which benefits enormously from Jeff York’s striking caricatures of great performers, from Bowie to Burton, or Peters to Preston, is no mere kitchen sink assortment loosely organized around vaguely defined themes. Instead, its 17 chapters are focused on stories specifically about those sometimes excruciating, sometimes exhilarating experiences alluded to in the book’s subtitle.
Fassler, an eager raconteur who swoons with affection for his stories, is not content to simply offer one or two-line bits and pieces, supplemented by longer examples of one or several paragraphs; almost all of his stories are fleshed out, often with significant contextual information. See, for instance, his discussion of James Stewart’s performance in Harvey. Doing due diligence, Fassler interviewed at least 100 people, many personal friends, while also drawing upon podcasts, online resources (including YouTube, that incredible resource for theater geeks), and a vast archive of printed materials. For the moment, The Show Goes On is fresh as a daisy, and includes stuff that happened as recently as this year.
The Show Goes On covers Broadway as far back as the 1930s, providing numerous tales not only of how actors were cast in major roles—many of historical significance—but how they were fired, released, let go, dropped, dismissed, abandoned—you name it—often for reasons no one ever bothered to explain to them. The cruelty revealed will likely seem familiar to many who’ve been down the same heartless path on Broadway’s boulevard of broken dreams.
In what constitutes a major thread, Fassler delves into what happens when, for a variety of reasons, an actor is hired to replace another, and what the replacement process entails. When you learn how often leading roles have been handed to actors on the very day they’re asked to replace someone, even when they’ve had, if lucky, only a couple of hours of rehearsal—or none at all!—you can only thrill with admiration for their courage, fortitude, and improvisational imagination. Your heart also goes out to those onstage with them, offering support via whispered lines and stage directions. It’s a wonder such stories of challenge and resilience have not been aggregated before.
Among the book’s many highlights are those marvelous sections when, as with Equus, Fassler compares multiple performances of the same role by a sequence of replacements. His descriptions, sometimes based on his own return visits, are both vastly informative and enormously entertaining, even if some of the actors cited aren’t quite marquee idols. Of course, fans will relish the juiciest, most au courant stories, like the one—on its way to legendary status—that kicks off the book and embraces both a firing and a hiring. Need I say more than Beanie Feldstein and Lea Michelle?
I can see countless actors who’ve been in similar situations reading these accounts and not only shouting “hallelujah” because someone has exposed the difficulties involved, but wanting to share their own stories, positive or negative. Add to these the many other reports on what theater makers go through: the betrayals, lies, pranks, accidents, illnesses, and related disasters; and, you’ll not only meet both theater folk who are great human beings, but also those who are little more than shits. Provided your memory is intact, this book will arm you with enough gossipy ammunition to fuel your social gatherings for months to come.
While telling these stories, Fassler drops one fabled name after the other, including actors, directors, choreographers, agents, producers, press reps, and so on. Even if you’re a Broadway addict who reads every memoir published, you may find yourself surprised by yarns wrapped around names like Nathan Lane, Richard Burton, Angela Lansbury, James Earl Jones, Raul Julia, David Merrick, Henry Fonda, Hal Prince, Chita Rivera, Gower Champion, Neil Simon, Bebe Neuwirth, Gwen Verdon, Penny Fuller, Anthony Hopkins, Bob Fosse, Laurence Olivier, Anthony Quinn, Shirley MacLaine, George Abbott, Liza Minelli, Joel Grey . . . you get the idea.
I promised earlier I’d say why The Show Goes On could be better. To be brief: it adequately addresses the casting issues of diversity involving Black actors, but skips the nearly equivalent problems of Asian American casting; it needs a thorough scouring by a professional copy editor; and it’s a bit longer than necessary.
I reviewed 40 books for Leiter Looks at Books thus far this year. Even with its flaws, I’d put The Show Goes On near the top of that list, both for the quality of its content and—copy editing aside—the skillful charm of its reportage. With the holiday season upon us, Ron Fassler’s book is an easy choice if you’re looking to buy theater lovers in your circle something they’ll appreciate. One caveat, though: this is a self-published book not presently available on Amazon, so go here if you’d like to get one.
Leiter Looks at Books welcomes inquiries from publishers and authors interested in having their theater/show business-related books reviewed.
