Carol Burnett has signed on to the Encompass New Opera Theatre's starry May 7th tribute to legendary composer
Charles Strouse.
Stars of stage and screen will perform highlights saluting Strouse's career.
The gala celebration will benefit the Encompass New
Opera Theatre, a non–profit company specializing in developing new
music theatre and contemporary opera.
Hosted by Tony Award-winner
Marian Seldes, the evening will feature performances by Ann Anello,
Victoria Clark,
Darius DeHaas, Madeline Gilford,
Jason Graae,
Phyllis Newman Green, Peter Howard,
Judy Kuhn, Tom Meehan, K.T. Sullivan, and
Karen Ziemba; there wll also be a few surprises. Burnett will be on hand to introduce Strouse.
Strouse
will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the gala, which will
take place at the historic National Arts Club at 15 Gramercy Park
South.
Sheldon Harnick and
John Kander will serve as Honorary Co-Chairs.
"The evening will celebrate the diverse range of Strouse's creative genius.
Charles Strouse's
music has been an integral part of American culture for over forty
years," state press notes. "His first Broadway musical was 1960's
Bye Bye Birdie
(written with longtime collaborators Lee Adams and Michael Stewart). It
won him a Tony Award for best score – his first of three – and paved
the way for his next show
It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's Superman! In 1962, his musical
All American (book by
Mel Brooks) produced the well-known standard 'Once Upon a Time.'
Golden Boy, starring Sammy Davis, Jr., earned four Tony award nominations, and Applause, starring
Lauren Bacall, won Strouse his second Tony Award.
In 1977, Strouse adapted another comic strip for the stage.
Annie
garnered Strouse yet another Tony (in addition to two Grammies) Strouse
also wrote the theme song for "All in the Family," "Those Were The
Days." Strouse's "Concerto America" premiered at The Boston Pops, and
his opera
Nightingale, starring
Sarah Brightman
had a successful run in London's West End. A graduate of the Eastman
School of Music, Strouse studied under Aaron Copland and Nadia
Boulanger."
A limited number of tickets, priced at $250, are available. Visit
www.encompassopera.org for more information.
