Eyal Solomon – Editor/Publisher
Eyal Solomon is the editor/publisher of Theater Pizzazz, taking over from founder Sandi Durell upon her passing.
Eyal is a trained and active musician in multiple genres, currently performing regularly with his funk-rock band, as well as an avid fan of jazz and cabaret. His professional background, as marketing consultant and content creator, combines both business and the arts, serving him in both is writing for and managing Theater Pizzazz. His inability to dance is world-renowned.
Ron Fassler – Chief Theater Critic
RON FASSLER is an author, theater historian and drama critic. His second book, “The Show Goes On: Broadway Hirings, Firings and Replacements,” was recently published. His first effort, “Up in the Cheap Seats: An Historical Memoir” (2017), was called “Well worth the price of admission” by Nathan Lane. A voting member of the Drama Desk Awards, you can read many of the columns he’s written about pivotal Broadway shows and the people behind them in his “Theatre Yesterday and Today” blog at www.ronfassler.org.
Andrew Poretz
Andrew Poretz – “The Boulevardier of Broadway” – is an entertainer (singer, guitarist, ukulele player and storyteller), producer, and a reviewer of jazz and cabaret shows. An early podcaster, his “Coaches’ Corner on BlogTalkRadio” segments are still available on iTunes. Andrew has performed in prominent venues throughout New York and the Bay Area. He is also a board member of The American Popular Song Society (APSS). His blog, “The Boulevardier,” can be found at www.andrewporetz.com.
Samuel L. Leiter
Samuel L. Leiter, PhD is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center, CUNY. An award-winning author and editor, he has published twenty-six books, most recently Kabuki at the Crossroads: Years of Crisis, 1952-1965 and Rising from the Flames: The Rebirth of Theater in Occupied Japan, 1945-52. Among his other books are Ten Seasons: New York Theatre in the Seventies; the multivolume Encyclopedia of the New York Stage; The Great Stage Directors: 100 Distinguished Careers of the Theatre ; and the multivolume Kabuki Plays on Stage series. From 1992 to 2004 he was editor-in-chief of Asian Theatre Journal. His many honors include a Fulbright Research Fellowship and an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Emeritus Fellowship. Sam is a voting member of the Drama Desk Awards and from 2012-2014 he was a nominator for the Drama Desk Awards. Since 2012, he has reviewed nearly 600 New York productions on his blog, Theatre’s Leiter Side (slleiter@blogspot.com).
Alix Cohen
Alix Cohen is the recipient of ten New York Press Club Awards. Her writing history began with poetry, segued into lyrics and took a commercial detour while holding executive positions in product development and design. A cultural sponge, she now turns her diverse personal and professional background to authoring pieces about culture/the arts with particular interest in artists/performers. She’s a voting member of Drama Desk and lives in Manhattan. Of course.
Carol Rocamora
Carol Rocamora, Ph.D., is an educator, author, and theatre critic. She is the author of 9 publications, including translations of the complete works ofAnton Chekhov, and two biographies (of Chekhov and Vaclav Havel). Her original play “I take your hand in mine…” was directed by Peter Brook in Europe and London and has been translated into 10 languages and performed all over the world. She served on the faculty of NYU Tisch School of the Arts (1993-2023) and currently teaches at the Juilliard School. She is a member of Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, and the American Theatre Critics Association. Her new book The Living Chekhov will be published in 2026 (Wordville Press, London).
Carole Di Tosti
Carole Di Tosti, Ph.D. is a New York City theater and film critic. She is a Drama Desk member and voter. Her novel Peregrine: The Ceremony of Powers, her poetry book of sonnets, Light Shifts, and her plays The Berglarian, The Sicilian Lighthouse and the two plays in I’ll Take Manhattan (The Squatters’ Project and Maximized Space) were published between 2021-2025. CaroleDiTostibooks.com.
Meredith Heyman
Meredith Heyman has been covering Broadway for more than a decade. When she’s not writing about theater, she is a video correspondent and producer for Investor’s Business Daily. Her work has also been seen in The U.S. Sun, Backstage and on Pix 11. She is a graduate of NYU and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Meredith lives in Hoboken with her husband, Andrew, toddler son, Elliot, and Cavapoo, Sadie.
Walter Murphy
Walter Murphy caught the theater bug as a youth in NYC. For a birthday present his Dad took him to see The Sound of Music on Broadway, starring Mary Martin. He was hooked and became a lifelong theater devotee. A retired Instructional Designer, he now focuses on Off and Off-Off Broadway shows. As a writer, he’s published throughout his career and more recently in NYC and international media. Writing for Theater Pizzazz has become a labor of love. Walter also teaches advanced ESOL at Lenox HIll Neighborhood House.
Melissa Griegel
Melissa Griegel is an avid theater-goer and loves all things Broadway. A graduate of Cornell University, she went on to study photography at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. In addition to owning her own portrait studio, Melissa writes and photographs for five magazines. “I love being able to interview people and write reviews and articles in addition to doing the photography,” she says. “I feel like I get the complete story that way.” One of her favorite annual events is BroadwayCon. “There is so much energy and you are completely surrounded by people who love theater as much as you do.” You can view her work at www.griegelphoto.zenfolio.com
Adam Cohen
Adam Cohen grew up watching summer stock at Plays in the Park New Jersey. He’s written for Center on the Aisle and Broadway World. Cohen runs marathons and triathlons and prefers an aisle seat to stretch out and enjoy shows with his college-age daughter.
Alex Eichholz
Alex Eichholz may be new to the writing world, but he is definitely not new to the theatre world. He recently graduated with a BFA in musical theatre from Marymount Manhattan College, and after performing for essentially his whole life, is excited to shift perspectives diving head first into the critical side of theatre making.
Yani Perez
Yani Perez, M.F.A, is a poet, playwright, translator and educator. Her plays have been presented in various theaters in the United States such as La Mama and Yale University as well as internationally in Bogotá, Colombia. She works at IATI Theater, one of the oldest Latinx theaters in NYC. She is a contributor for Off Off Online and All About Solo. www.yaniperez.com
Sandi Durell – Founder
Serving as editor and publisher up until her passing in 2024, Sandi founded TheaterPizzazz as a home for independent-minded theater and cabaret writers.
Sandi was a renowned voice in the NYC theater & cabaret community for over 30 years. She was a Voting Member of the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle Awards, the American Theatre Critics and other associations. Her producer credentials include: Broadway & Hollywood Live! Revues, Songwriter Showcase for the American Popular Song Society for 19 years; the benefit CD “Our Heart Sings;” Award winning film “Broadway the Golden Age” (with Rick McKay) and much more.
