Latest news with #CharlesStrouse
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Charles Strouse obituary
Like his fellow Broadway composers Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, Charles Strouse, who has died aged 96, had a classical music education. But his breakthrough hit – for which he won his first Tony award – with lyrics by his early career collaborator, Lee Adams, was Bye Bye Birdie (1960), a satirical take on the new teenage culture of rock'n'roll, with reference to the kerfuffle surrounding Elvis Presley's call up to the US army. His biggest hit of all, though, and the first without lyrics by Adams, was the uplifting Depression-era musical Annie (1977), based on the cartoon strip little orphan girl melting the heart of billionaire Daddy Warbucks. The show ran on Broadway for over 2,300 performances, and for more than three-and-a-half years at the Victoria Palace in London, and was made into a film in 1982. Mike Nichols's production of Annie had lyrics (and direction) by Martin Charnin and book by Thomas Meehan. Strouse's punchy, irresistible score, for which he won his third Tony award, included several songs that have entered the musical theatre pantheon: Annie's indomitably optimistic Tomorrow, the upbeat, rhythmic orphanage lament It's the Hard-Knock Life (later sampled by Jay-Z for a single in 1998) and the equally upbeat suggestion that You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile, an appropriate placebo – in musical theatre terms, at least – for child poverty and misery. The whole was feelgood to an extent that would be unbearable without Strouse's sly, plangently melodic, beautifully crafted songs and the occasional high-quality belter. As in the standout song of Bye Bye Birdie (the 'Elvis' hero was named Conrad Birdie, played on the London stage in 1961 by Marty Wilde), Put on a Happy Face (sung by Birdie's promoter and played on Broadway and in the 1963 movie by Dick Van Dyke), Strouse operated in a pre-Sondheim non-ironic world of musical theatre escapism. Birdie won him his first Tony. He was born in New York, growing up on the Upper West Side, the son of Ira Strouse, a travelling salesman, and his wife, Ethel (nee Newman), and was educated at a Manhattan prep school, Townsend Harris Hall in the city, and the Eastman School of Music, in Rochester, New York, graduating in 1947. He won two scholarships to the Tanglewood summer festival and music centre in Massachusetts, where he studied with Aaron Copland. Copland then arranged a further scholarship for him with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. Although he wrote many orchestral works, including a piano concerto and an opera for children, Nightingale (seen at the Lyric Hammersmith in London in 1982, with Sarah Brightman, fresh from Cats, delivering an astonishing vocal performance of coloratura trills and soaring melodic lines) based on a moral fable by Hans Christian Andersen, he found his musical theatre groove after meeting Adams at a New York party in 1949. The duo started by writing songs for summer revues in the lakeside resorts of the Adirondacks and developed this work through the 50s in off-Broadway revues and cabarets with writers including Neil Simon, Vernon Duke and Ogden Nash. Their second musical, All American (1962), was a flop, though it contained a poignant, lyrical ballad about lost love, Once Upon a Time, which was recorded by Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett and sung by Bob Dylan among others. The show had a book by Mel Brooks, who took from the debacle the germ of an idea for an intentionally disastrous musical that is a fluke triumph. His movie masterpiece The Producers, containing the calculatedly tasteless-as-possible hit show Springtime for Hitler, appeared in 1967. After Annie, there was a string of flops and a misguided sequel to the first hit. Bring Back Birdie (1981) closed after just four performances on Broadway. It should have been called 'Bye Bye, Bye Bye Birdie'. Similarly, a famous flop with lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, Dance a Little Closer (1983), shuttered on the same night as it opened, having been dubbed during previews 'Close a Little Sooner'. That followed on the heels of another failure, Charlie and Algernon (1980, lyrics by David Rogers) which was presented – as Flowers for Algernon – in the West End by the producer Michael White in the previous year. It lasted barely three weeks at the Queen's (now Sondheim). Despite these setbacks, Strouse's reputation remained, and remains, secure. He and Adams provided Sammy Davis Jr with a spectacular leading role as a prize-fighting boxer escaping from the Harlem ghetto in Golden Boy (1964) – best song, This Is the Life – directed by Arthur Penn and based on a 1937 play by Clifford Odets. It ran for nearly two years on Broadway and was the first musical produced at the London Palladium (in 1968) when Davis Jr reprised the role for a three-month run. In 1965, Strouse provided a clever, quasi-rocky score for Hal Prince's production of It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman! (lyrics by Adams, book by David Newman and the film director Robert Benton – who later wrote the first Christopher Reeve Superman movie). And in 1970, Lauren Bacall headed the duo's Applause, accurately based on the movie All About Eve, with a book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, for which Strouse won his second Tony. Bacall was younger and more supple as Margo Channing than Bette Davis in the movie, and in London, at the Her (now His) Majesty's in 1972, the show had a solid 11-month run with Angela Richards superb as the aspirant, dethroning lead Eve Harrington. In the same year, in London, Strouse and Adams launched a spectacular musical starring Polly James as Queen Victoria, I and Albert, at the Piccadilly, directed by John Schlesinger, but this was a seriously skewed fiasco, managing just 120 performances, though Adams remains proud of his lyrics. The New York Times critic Frank Rich averred that Strouse often wrote rousing scores for frail shows, citing both Rags (1986) – lyrics by Rogers, book by Joseph Stein, librettist of Fiddler on the Roof – about Jewish immigrants in early 20th-century New York, starring the opera singer Teresa Stratas; and the misfired Nick & Nora (1991), based on the sleuthing married couple in Dashiel Hammett's novel The Thin Man, lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr, book by Arthur Laurents. The first lasted four performances, the second – also known as 'Nick & Snora' – doubled up with just nine. Strouse wrote several notable film scores: for Bonnie and Clyde (1967), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968), There Was a Crooked Man (1970), starring Henry Fonda and Kirk Douglas, and Sidney Lumet's Just Tell Me What You Want (1980), which featured a hilarious romantic punch-up in a department store between Ali MacGraw and her feckless millionaire lover, played by the hangdog comedian Alan King. As Lerner nearly once observed, the lyrics of any show tune are only as good as the music lets them be, and for one glorious decade the lyrics of Adams flourished thanks to Strouse, who subsequently flattered the efforts of less ideal creative partners. Strouse is right up there with the best of the old Broadway musical theatre greats before Sondheim broadened the genre's horizons while, according to the critic Mark Steyn, reducing the popular audience to a sophisticated metropolitan elite. He married the actor and choreographer Barbara Simon in 1962; she died in 2023. He is survived by their four children, Benjamin, Nicholas, Victoria and William, and by eight grandchildren. Charles Louis Strouse, composer, born 7 June 1928; died 15 May 2025
New York Times
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
The Broadway Best of Charles Strouse
'Bye Bye Birdie' and 'Annie,' the composer Charles Strouse's most popular musicals, were not just big hits that are regularly revived on professional and amateur stages. They captured essential elements of American culture, including a yearning for escape from an older generation's shackles and a can-do spirit to overcome adversity. Strouse, who died Thursday at 96, wrote jingles, pop songs and movie scores, but he remains famous for his Broadway shows. In addition to those two blockbusters, three others help make up his career peaks. Here are five numbers that illustrate Strouse's suppleness as a composer and his knack for instantly hummable melodies. 'Bye Bye Birdie' Few musicals showcase as many great numbers as this hit about the Elvis Presley-like star Conrad Birdie, who, as a publicity stunt, visits a Midwest family before shipping off to the Army. The movie version, from 1963, is one of Hollywood's best musicals of that decade, even though it made big changes to the show. The most egregious was casting Janet Leigh in the role of Rose Alvarez, played by Chita Rivera on Broadway. But it is hard to nitpick with the focus being shifted to Kim, a teenager discovering her sultry side, because she was played by Ann-Margret in an explosive performance that made her a star — she was particularly electric in the number 'A Lot of Livin' to Do.' Bonus video: In 2024, Vanessa Williams performed that song at the annual Miscast event, keeping the pronouns originally sung by Conrad Birdie intact. 'Golden Boy' Strouse teamed up again with his 'Birdie' lyricist, Lee Adams, for this somber-minded, boxing-themed vehicle for Sammy Davis Jr. (one of the entertainer's only four Broadway credits). The composer's ability to tap into a brassy energy is on full display in the sharp-edged number 'Don't Forget 127th Street,' and overall this is probably his jazziest score — 'Night Song' has been covered by several jazz acts including Art Blakey, Sarah Vaughan and Nina Simone. Based on a Clifford Odets play from 1937, the 'Golden Boy' musical changed the lead character of Joe from Italian American to Black and the underlying concerns from immigration to racial equality. The show was very much connected to the preoccupations of the civil rights era, and its interracial romance — and duets like 'I Want to Be With You' between Davis and his co-star, Paula Wayne — was not the kind of thing you often saw onstage at that time. 'It's a Bird … It's a Plane … It's Superman' Had the makers of 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark' consulted Strouse, he might have informed them that superhero musicals are a tough nut to crack. In 1966, he and Adams tried to make Superman sing and dance on Broadway, and the show crashed like the Man of Steel after being exposed to Kryptonite. The overall vibe was very much in sync with that of the goofy 'Batman' TV series, which also premiered in 1966 — the musical even included a number titled 'Pow! Bam! Zonk!' A standard did make it out, however: 'You've Got Possibilities.' Linda Lavin originated it on Broadway (and sang it in her cabaret shows over the decades), but this sultry cover by Peggy Lee, from her 1966 album 'Big Spender,' makes the most of Strouse's uncommon melodic gifts. 'Applause' This number, 'But Alive,' in which Lauren Bacall's diva of a character visits a Greenwich Village bar clearly packed with adoring gay men has to be one of the campiest romps ever. Strouse and Adams's musical 'Applause' was based on the Mary Orr short story that inspired 'All About Eve' (the studio did not relinquish the rights to the film itself), updated by the book writers Betty Comden and Adolph Green to 1970. Bacall played Margo Channing (immortalized by Bette Davis in the movie), and to say she was not an adept singer or dancer would be an understatement. She had, however, the necessary aura and she was game, making 'But Alive' completely irrepressible — perhaps even more so precisely because Bacall was not, well, Ann-Margret. Wouldn't you have been dancing and singing along with her, too? 'Annie' The 'Annie' number at the 1977 Tony Awards went on for a whopping 10 minutes, which feels downright epic by current Tony standards. Original cast members, including Andrea McArdle (Annie) and Dorothy Loudon (Miss Hannigan), presented an overview of the show dotted with generous excerpts from such great songs as 'You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile,' 'Easy Street' and, of course, the anthem of eternal optimism known as 'Tomorrow.' The show about a plucky young orphan who finds a new family during the Great Depression, by Strouse, the lyricist Martin Charnin and the book writer Thomas Meehan, was an instant smash, winning seven Tonys including best musical, and earning a spot in the pop-culture pantheon.
News18
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
Sarah Jessica Parker Gets Emotional After Hearing About Charles Strouse's Demise
Last Updated: May 16, 2025, 21:30 IST Movies Sarah Jessica Parker, who played the titular role in the celebrated Broadway musical Annie, by Charles Strouse, fondly remembered the Tony Award-winning composer following his death on May 15. 'I feel really lucky that I knew him,' she said. Watch the video to hear her heartfelt memories. bollywood news | entertainment news live | latest bollywood news | bollywood | news18 | n18oc_moviesLiked the video? Please press the thumbs up icon and leave a comment. Subscribe to Showsha YouTube channel and never miss a video: Showsha on Instagram: Showsha on Facebook: Showsha on X: Showsha on Snapchat: entertainment and lifestyle news and updates on:
Los Angeles Times
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Charles Strouse, Broadway composer of ‘Annie' and ‘Bye Bye Birdie,' dies at 96
NEW YORK — Charles Strouse, the three-time Tony Award winner and Broadway master melody-maker who composed the music for 'Annie,' 'Bye Bye Birdie' and 'Applause,' died Thursday. He was 96. Strouse died at his home in New York City, his family said. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, Strouse wrote more than a dozen Broadway musicals, as well as film scores and 'Those Were the Days,' the theme song for the sitcom 'All in the Family.' Strouse turned out such popular — and catchy — show tunes as 'Tomorrow,' the optimistic anthem from 'Annie,' and the equally cheerful 'Put on a Happy Face' from 'Bye Bye Birdie,' his first Broadway success. 'I work every day. Activity — it's a life force,' the New York-born composer told the Associated Press during an interview on the eve of his 80th birthday in 2008. 'When you enjoy doing what you're doing, which I do very much, I have something to get up for.' Deep into his 90s, he visited tours of his shows and met casts. Jenn Thompson, who appeared in the first 'Annie' as Pepper and directed a touring version of 'Annie' in 2024, recalls Strouse coming to auditions and shedding a tear when a young girl sang 'Tomorrow.' She said: 'He's so gorgeously generous and kind. He has always been that way.' His Broadway career began in 1960 with 'Bye Bye Birdie,' which Strouse wrote with lyricist Lee Adams and librettist Michael Stewart. 'Birdie,' which starred Dick Van Dyke and Chita Rivera, told the tale of an Elvis Presley-like crooner named Conrad Birdie being drafted into the Army and its effect on one small Ohio town. Strouse not only wrote the music, but he played piano at auditions while Edward Padula, the show's neophyte producer, tried to attract financial backers for a production that would eventually cost $185,000. 'We never stopped giving auditions — and people never gave money at all. The idea of using rock 'n' roll — everybody was so turned off,' Strouse said. Finally, Padula found Texas oilman L. Slade Brown. When he heard the score, he said, in a Texas twang, 'I like those songs,' pushed Strouse aside and picked out the tune of 'Put on a Happy Face' on the piano. Brown then said, 'How much do you fellas need?' and wrote out a check for $75,000 to cover the start of rehearsals. 'Suddenly, the world turned Technicolor,' Strouse remembered. The popularity of 'Birdie' spawned a film (with Van Dyke, Janet Leigh and Ann-Margret) in 1963 and a television adaptation with Jason Alexander and Vanessa Williams in 1995. Strouse and Adams gave several non-musical theater stars, including Sammy Davis Jr. and Lauren Bacall, stage successes for 'Golden Boy' and 'All About Eve,' respectively. But it was 'Annie' (1977) that proved to be Strouse's most durable — and long-running — Broadway hit (over 2,300 performances). Chronicling the Depression-era adventures of the celebrated comic strip character Little Orphan Annie, the musical featured lyrics by Martin Charnin and a book by Thomas Meehan. It starred Andrea McArdle as the red-haired moppet and Dorothy Loudon, who won a Tony for her riotous portrayal of mean Miss Hannigan, who ran the orphanage. The musical contained gems such as 'You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile' and 'It's the Hard Knock Life.' The 1982 film version, which featured Carol Burnett in Loudon's role, was not nearly as popular or well-received. A stage sequel called 'Annie Warbucks' ran off-Broadway in 1993. The show was revived on Broadway in 2012 and made into a film starring Quvenzhané Wallis in 2014. NBC put a version on network TV in 2021 called 'Annie Live!' Strouse and Charnin, who both won Grammy Awards for the 'Annie' cast album, found shards of their work included in Jay-Z's 1998 Grammy-winning album 'Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life.' 'Tomorrow' has been heard on soundtracks from 'Shrek 2″ to 'Dave' to 'You've Got Mail.' In 2016, Lukas Graham used parts of the chorus from 'Annie' for his 'Mama Said' hit. Strouse had his share of flops, too, including two shows — 'A Broadway Musical' (1978) and 'Dance a Little Closer,' a 1983 musical written with Alan Jay Lerner, that closed after one performance. Among his other less-than-successful musicals were 'All-American' (1962), starring Ray Bolger, 'It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman' (1966), directed by Harold Prince, and 'Bring Back Birdie' (1981), a sequel to 'Bye Bye Birdie.' Among Strouse's film scores were the music for 'Bonnie and Clyde' (1967) and 'The Night They Raided Minsky's' (1968). Theater beckoned when he and Adams got a chance in the early 1950s to write songs for weekly revues at an Adirondacks summer camp called Green Mansions. Such camps were the training ground for dozens of performers and writers. 'I would write a song and I would orchestrate it and copy the parts,' he said in the AP interview. 'And rehearsal was the next day at nine, so at four in the morning, I am crossing the lake with the parts still wet. I just loved it. I never was happier.' His wife, Barbara, died in 2023. He is survived by four children, Ben, Nick, Victoria and William. Kennedy writes for the Associated Press.
The Guardian
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Charles Strouse, Tony award-winning composer of Annie, dies aged 96
The composer Charles Strouse, a three-time Tony award-winner whose hits included Annie, has died at the age of 96. His death at home in New York on Thursday was announced by his four children. Over the course of a long and illustrious career, Strouse composed music for the Broadway shows Bye Bye Birdie, Golden Boy, Applause, Rags and Nick & Nora. But he was perhaps best known for his score for Annie which opened in New York in 1977 and ran for almost six years. The story of the plucky red-headed orphan featured evergreen songs (with lyrics by Martin Charnin) including Tomorrow, You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile and It's the Hard-Knock Life, which was sampled by Jay-Z in a 1998 single. Annie received seven Tony awards, including best musical and best original score, and won the Grammy for best cast show album. It was adapted as a film in 1982. Strouse's other Tony award-winners were the 1960 comedy Bye Bye Birdie and 1970's Applause (based on the film All About Eve); both shows had lyrics by his regular collaborator Lee Adams. In 1996, the pair won a Primetime Emmy for outstanding original music and lyrics for the song Let's Settle Down from a TV film adaptation of Bye Bye Birdie, which follows a rock'n'roll singer drafted into the army. Strouse was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1985. He also worked in film, incorporating banjos into the score for Bonnie and Clyde, and television, writing the theme music for the long-running sitcom All in the Family. Pop songs (including the hit Born Too Late written with Fred Tobias), revues, opera, chamber music and a range of classical pieces were also composed by the industrious and prolific Strouse. His Concerto America was written to commemorate the September 11 terrorist attacks. Born on 7 June 1928, he grew up in New York and graduated from its Eastman School of Music in 1947. He later studied under Aaron Copland and Nadia Boulanger. In 1964 he married the dancer and choreographer Barbara Siman; they were married for almost 60 years until her death in 2023. His children, Benjamin, Nicholas, Victoria and William, survive him. Strouse reflected on his career in the 2008 memoir Put on a Happy Face, named after one of his songs for Bye Bye Birdie. 'The way a fine tailor feels about his material, I feel about musical notes,' he said the following year.
