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 actors: Julie Harris, Joseph Maher,
Maureen Stapleton and John McMartin—all brought to life
in vivid detail and sharp observation.
UP IN THE CHEAP SEATS: 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.
