Up in the Cheap Seats: A Historical Memoir of Broadway

by Ron Fassler, Jeff York (Illustrator)

In this touching and often hilarious theatrical memoir, Ron Fassler tells the stories of how over a four-year span,

between the ages of 12-16, he saw 200 Broadway plays and musicals for as little as $1.50 a ticket—and all from UP IN THE CHEAP SEATS.

Such landmarks as Company, 1776, The Great White Hope, Hair, Follies and Pippin are but a small sampling of the original productions Fassler saw, funded entirely from the money earned as a Long Island paper boy. His eyewitness account to some of the greatest shows and stars of the 1960s and 70s (with visits backstage to a number of them), is furthered by conversing over the past four years with 100 men and women who were part of this remarkable time. Threading his own stories with theirs, the book features memories and insights from the likes of Harold Prince, Stephen Sondheim, Bette Midler, Sheldon Harnick, James Earl Jones, Austin Pendleton, Ken Howard, Hal Linden, Stacy Keach, Jane Alexander and Mike Nichols among many others.

With a half-century of theatregoing behind him, and dozens of credits over a long career as an actor and writer,

Ron Fassler invites us to revisit the plays that impacted him as a young teenager and future artist. Included are indepth studies of the lives and careers of some of Broadway’s finest Julie Harris, Joseph Maher,

Maureen Stapleton and John McMartin—all brought to life in vivid detail and sharp observation.

UP IN THE CHEAP A HISTORICAL MEMOIR OF BROADWAY is a first-of-its-kind hybrid that mixes the

personal and the professional; a delightful and intimate portrait of a time in the theatre that once was … and will

never be again.    
 

281 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 13, 2017

About the author

RON FASSLER is an author, theater historian and drama critic. “The Show Goes On: Broadway Hirings, Firings and Replacements,” was recently published and Nathan Lane called Ron’s first book, “Up in the Cheap Seats: An Historical Memoir” (2017), “Well worth the price of admission.” For more information, visit www.ronfassler.org. Mr. Fassler is also a recovering actor.

Reviews

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another one I've been reading for a while, but this time because the book lends itself to reading one chapter at a time. Fassler was a guest on a podcast I listen to discussing his new book on Broadway replacement stories (the one I'm admittedly more interested in but is proving harder to get ahold of), but this seemed interesting so I figured I'd pick it up.

I was more interested in some chapters than others and there were some shows on Fassler's list that I would've been more interested in hearing him talk about, but overall, I enjoyed these stories and the conversations he had with the people involved in these shows.

[John Lazenby · Rating 3 out of 5]

This guy is such a theatre nerd he makes me look like a jock!

Great stories of Robert Preston, Fiddler on the Roof, 1776, John McMartin (didn't know him by name but by his voice in the Into the Woods soundtrack), and a bunch of people in plays. I really loved the musical stories and was pretty bored by the play stories. However, I did leave with more interest in straight plays then when I came in.

[Wes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book went straight to my heart. Fassler recounts his experience seeing 200 Broadway shows in three years while in his early teens, 1969-1972. He was able to enjoy meeting stars backstage as well. He focuses on several historical productions and four Broadway veterans, including Maureen Stapleton and James Earl Jones. I especially liked his account of meeting Jones backstage because a friend and I had nearly identical experiences at 17 in San Francisco when he toured “Master Harold and the Boys.” Fassler interviews dozens of fellow actors to talk about the history he witnessed as a young teen. A well researched and personal history of American Theatre. Funny and heartwarming.

[Russell Sanders · Rating 2 out of 5]

A pre-teen in the 1970s, living in the suburbs of NYC, takes the train almost every Saturday to see a Broadway show, often by himself. And somehow, with incredible moxie, he meets the stars of the shows. What a premise! And a true premise it is. It would make for a charmingly funny memoir, now wouldn’t it? If only it were so. Ron Fassler was that kid, and his book Up in the Cheap Seats: a Historical Memoir of Broadway is the book he came up with, all these many years ago. Trouble is, Fassler tells us very little about his adventures as a kid, using those theater visits as a jumping off point for his analysis of the shows he saw (complete with copious research,) the critics writing at the time, and the stars he met. But he doesn’t relate many anecdotes about those shows, critics, and stars (and the ones he does relate fall far short of charming and funny.) Instead, he seems to do dry analysis and drop names. The chapters are peppered with interviews of famous people, but instead of weaving those interviews into interesting stories, Fassler is content to quote, in offset type, the actual words he heard in the interviews. Sort of like reading a playscript. Don’t get me wrong—I learned some things I didn’t know before; I reveled in finding out what a lovely person actress Julie Harris was; and it was fun to hear how devastatingly bad the flop musical Dude was. But, as a theater fanatic, I wanted a book told through the eyes of a child, since that was what I thought I bought. In looking through the list of the two hundred shows Fassler saw in his teen years of theater attendance, there were so many shows and stars that I would have rather heard about, but despite the fact that Fassler kept a journal, writing about each and every one, he chose to focus on just a handful of lesser known productions, and in fact, oftentimes admitted he “didn’t remember” when teasing us with something that might have been a wonderful story. I, too, saw a lot of theater in my teens, and I can remember an awful lot of it without the help of a personal journal. And I wasn’t seeing Broadway shows with major stars. Somehow, I think Ron Fassler cheated us with this book.

[Vnunez-Ms_luv2read · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book on the history of Broadway. As a patron of Broadway from a little girl, I was very excited to recieve the ARC of this book. I found the book to be very well researched and a true gem. A must read for any Broadway fan!!! Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

[Brett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gem of a book recounting the adventures of the author who began seeing Broadway shows at a very young age and within a very short time racked up 200 shows. Through his experiences and chapters dedicated to specific actors and shows, tells of a bygone era when you could see some of the great plays and musicals in Broadway’s history for $2.00 all the way up in the last rows of the Balcony.

[John Kenrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

For all theater lovers

Here a theater maven examines the show and talents that shaped his passion from childhood to his teens. Warm, funny, wonderfully entertaining. If you love theater as I do, this book will ignite memories. Highly recommended!

[Howard Fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

a nice but spotty trip down memory lane.