Broadway Breakdown Announcements, Heathers Off-Broadway Return + Ron Fassler on Broadway’s Juiciest Replacement Stories

This episode kicks off a new season of Broadway Breakdown with some big announcements, followed by a double feature: Matt’s in-depth review of the Heathers revival at New World Stages, followed by a conversation with actor, writer, and historian Ron Fassler about his new book The Show Goes On: Broadway, Hirings, Firings, and Replacements. From high school cliques and camp satire to Broadway’s backstage legends, it’s a jam-packed return.

Ron Fassler is a longtime Broadway insider whose fifty years of theatergoing have made him a walking encyclopedia of stage history. An actor turned author, he’s written extensively about the greats (and near-misses) of Broadway past. His latest book dives into the wild, heartbreaking, and often hilarious realities of replacement casting, making him the perfect guest to unpack the lore of Broadway survival stories.

Resources & Links

Broadway Breakdown Substack – essays, reviews, and extras from the podDiscord community – join the conversation with other BreakdownersTickets to Broadway Breakdown Cabaret – Nov 14 at Green Room 42

Ron Fassler’s The Show Goes On (available directly from the author, not Amazon)

Timestamps

0:00 – Announcements & Updates19:04 – Heathers Review54:20 – Ron Fassler Interview

Key People Mentioned

Heathers creative team: Laurence O’Keefe & Kevin Murphy (music & lyrics), Andy Fickman (director)Original film cast: Winona Ryder, Christian SlaterHeathers Off-Broadway revival cast: McKenzie Kurtz, Elizabeth Teeter, Erin Morton, Casey Likes, Lorna Courtney

Ron Fassler’s book subjects: Beanie Feldstein, Lea Michele, Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Henry Goodman, Richard Dreyfuss, Hugh Jackman, Patti LuPone, Glenn Close, Liza Minnelli, Richard Burton, Anne Miller, Robert Goulet, Cliff Gorman

Listener Discussion Questions

"Do you think Heathers works better as a biting teen satire film or as a campy, optimistic musical?"

"What’s the most surprising or memorable replacement casting you’ve ever seen (or wish you had)?"

"For theater adaptations: should musicals lean into optimism, or stay true to a darker original source?"

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bwaybreakdown.substack.com

Broadway Breakdown is back to cut through the surface-level theater chit chat with a new season and some podcast updates! Each week brings something new—reviews of the latest shows, sharp Tony Award predictions, or deep dives into the musicals and plays that shaped Broadway history.

This season features explorations of Dreamgirls, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and more—complete with behind-the-scenes drama, cultural context, and plenty of diva energy.

Subscribe and join Matt every week as he and his guests celebrate, question, and occasionally roast the art form they love most.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bwaybreakdown.substack.com

"Behold, the hills of tomorrow..."



Get a taste of what's to come with this pilot episode of a new series "I Was There" talking with Broadway artists with long and rich careers, telling us their stories. First up! Conductor/Music Director/Supervisor David Loud! David has worked on such incredible productions as She Loves Me (1993), Ragtime, Master Class as well as having been in the original production of Merrily We Roll Along!! Incredible!



Order David Loud's book "Facing the Music" here! https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Facing-the-Music/David-Loud/9781682451915



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SURPRISE! Bonus ep! Matt talks with David Hovey about the work happening at Covenant House, as well as the starry event on August 10th Sleep Out: Stage and Screen event.

Learn more about Covenant House Here! https://www.covenanthouse.org/

Donate to Matt's Fundraising Page Here! https://www.sleepout.org/participants/61110

Learn more about Sleep Out: Stage and Screen Here! https://www.sleepout.org/pages/2509?eventID=1152
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"Blue..."

The 2025-2026 Broadway season kicks off with icon Jean Smart's one woman show CALL ME IZZY. Plus a production of MACHINAL, which launches the first season of the brand new New York Theatre Company. What did Matt think? Well...take a listen...



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"And what did YOU think of that performance...?"



The 2024-2025 Broadway season has come to a close and with it, the Tony Awards. Daddy of the pod Robert W. Schneider returns to Breakdown to discuss with Matt the highs of the ceremony, debate some winners, and some tea Matt got from the Maybe Happy Ending after party! KICK IT!

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"What I expect...what I want...and what I dream..."

The 2025 Tony Awards are ALMOST HERE! This means it's time for a final, FINAL prediction episode with Awards Expert Sam Eckmann (GoldDerby). Unfortunately this has been a chaotic race and thus, Matt and Sam find themselves talking in circles convincing each other of what might happen and what they want to happen. It's fun. It's mess. It's Broadway.



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"Ever hear about...?"



Matt goes through the last couple of decades of winners to debunk and clarify some ol' Tony Awards myths...as well as discover some trends! Take a listen and win your Tony pool!



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BIG NEWS! MATT GOT A NEW MIC! But he isn't quite sure if he's figured it out yet. So be patient this episode.

Oh! And Matt went to London again with his mom and sister! Matt's mom joins for the first half to discuss their London adventures as well as the 5 shows they took in while staying in Fitzrovia for the week:

-The Comedy About Spies, Oliver!, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, My Neighbour Totoro, and Dear England. It's a fun time!



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And episode so long...we have to split it in two!



Matt saw Every. Single. Broadway. Show. This. Season. And my God is he gonna do the Lord's work and rank it all for you. Because why the F**K NOT?! Enjoy Part 1!



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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bwaybreakdown.substack.com