Photo Flash: Put on a Happy Face: A Salute to Charles Strouse
By: Eddie Varley Jan. 27, 2009
Last night in Beverly Hills, Monday January 26th, The Paley Center for Media saluted the work of award-winning composer Charles Strouse in the third of its concert & conversations series, PaleyAfterDark. The composer of such great Broadway hits including Bye Bye Birdie, Golden Boy, Applause, Annie, and Rags, Strouse with special guests Bonnie Franklin (who nominated for a Tony award for Applause) and cast members of Minsky's shared a rare evening of story and song which celebrated his illustrious career and the Los Angeles debut of his latest musical triumph, Minsky's. The program was illuminated by archival footage of rare Strouse material from the Paley Center's collection and finished with a musical performance by the composer singing an arrangement of favorites from "Put on a Happy Face" to "Tomorrow."Minsky's is based on the Bud Yorkin-Norman Lear production of "The Night They Raided Minsky's."
Charles Strouse has touched The Life of almost every American in the last half century with his musical works. There may be no other living composer from America's popular songbook whose work is as integrated into the popular culture as that of Charles Strouse.His music has attracted top recording artists from the last half-century with covers of his songs recorded by such diverse pop artists as Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Bobby Darin, Harry Connick, Jr., Bobby Rydell, Jay Z, Vic Damone, Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone, Grace Jones and Duke Ellington and his Orchestra.Strouse has written the score to over 30 stage musicals, 14 scores for Broadway, four Hollywood films, two orchestral works and an opera.He has been inducted to the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Theatre Hall of Fame.
He is a three-time Tony Award winner, a two-time Emmy Award winner, and his cast recordings have earned him two Grammy Awards.His song "Those Were The Days" launched over 200 episodes of the "All in the Family" and continues to reach new generations of television audiences in syndication.With hundreds of productions licensed annually, his musicals Annie and Bye Bye Birdie are among the most popular musicals of all time produced by regional, amateur and school groups all over the world. Strouse's memoir, Put on a Happy Face - A Broadway Memoir, is published by Sterling Publishing and will be available in stores everywhere July 1, 2008.
Tickets for the Ahmanson Theatre's 42nd season are currently available by subscription only. For information and to charge subscriptions by phone, call the new Exclusive Season Ticket Hotline at (213) 972-4444.
To purchase subscriptions on-line, visit CenterTheatreGroup.org.
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