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Paperback

Up in the Cheap Seats

By Ron Fassler

Up in the Cheap Seats
Price$20.00

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About This Book

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.

Details
Author
Ron Fassler
Publisher
Ron Fassler
Published date
5 May, 2025
Type
Paperback
Cover finish
Matte
Interior
Standard Black & White
Dimensions
5.5 in - 8.5 in
Pages
259 Pages
About The Author

Ron Fassler is a theatre historian, drama critic and author of "Up in the Cheap Seats: A Historical Memoir of Broadway."

Praise for Up in the Cheap Seats

JL

Theatre is a transient art, here and then gone, but in his enormously entertaining book UP IN THE CHEAP SEATS, Ron Fassler has made it a little more permanent. Both a moving coming of age memoir and a compulsively readable memoir of Broadway itself, UP IN THE CHEAP SEATS pays homage to the men and women who devote their lives to making great theatre.

John LoganPlaywright, <em>Red</em>
BP

Ron Fassler's UP IN THE CHEAP SEATS reminds me why I am WHO I am. The introduction to live theatre, the spark that lit the creative flame inside me that has become the foundation of my life's work on this planet.

Billy PorterActor, <em>Kinky Boots</em>
NL

Ron Fassler's Up in the Cheap Seats is an utterly charming and thoroughly entertaining memoir that draws back the curtain on many famous and infamous Broadway shows of the sixties and seventies, all through the eyes and thanks to the chutzpah of a budding actor and critic who never met a stage doorman he couldn't schmooze. For that alone it is worth the price of admission.

Nathan LaneActor, <em>The Producers</em>

Inside the Book

A heartfelt, coming-of-age memoir about a teenager who saw 200 Broadway shows for just a dollar each.

  • Coming-of-age and teenage passion
  • Broadway and theater history
  • 1970s New York City culture
  • The magic of live performance
  • Accessibility of the arts
  • Memoir and personal storytelling

From the Author

What goes into an actor making a role their own in the shadow of another's highly lauded performance?

Ron Fassler

I first thought maybe it was a screenplay, then I thought maybe it could be a one man show. But it really came clear to me that it could be a wonderful coming-of-age-story, a personal memoir.

Ron Fassler

The Life of This Book

Reviews, interviews, excerpts, and events since publication.

Apr
2017
ReviewForbes

"Up in the Cheap Seats" by Ron Fassler - A Fan's Notes of the Broadway Theater →

Forbes praises Fassler's charming theater memoir, highlighting his meticulous notes and memories of attending over 200 Broadway plays between 1969 and 1973.

Aug
2017
ReviewStageZine

'Up In the Cheap Seats: A Historical Memoir of Broadway' →

A review of Fassler's memories of attending Broadway shows as a child for as little as $2.90, alongside his backstage encounters with actors.

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