Award-winning stars of stage and screen will perform highlights saluting the career of composer Charles Strouse. A gala celebration will be held on May 7th to 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, Madeline Gilford, Joanna Gleason, Jason Graae, Phyllis Newman Green, Judy Kaye, Marc Kudisch, Thomas Meehan, K.T. Sullivan, Karen Ziemba and surprise guests.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.Videos