Charles Strouse Videos

Get a first look behind the scenes in the clips below!

Happy Birthday, Charles Strouse! Strouse's first Broadway musical was the 1960 hit Bye Bye Birdie, with lyrics by Lee Adams, who would become his long time collaborator. Following this was Golden Boy (1964, also with Adams), starring Sammy Davis, Jr. and It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman (1966, based on the popular comic strip) which introduced the song 'You've Got Possibilities' sung by Linda Lavin. In 1970, Applause (starring Lauren Bacall, with book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and lyrics by Adams) won Strouse his second Tony Award. In 1977, Strouse adapted another comic strip for the stage, creating the hit Annie, which garnered him his third Tony Award and two Grammy Awards. Other Strouse musicals include Charlie and Algernon (1979), Dance a Little Closer (1983, with lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner), Rags (1986), Nick & Nora (1993), and An American Tragedy (1995, with lyrics by David Shaber).

After a multi-city coast-to-coast search that spanned nine months and over 5,000 auditions, ANNIE has found its Annie! Eleven-year-old Lilla Crawford will play the title role in the new production of the classic Tony Award®-winning Broadway musical, opening Fall, 2012 at a Nederlander theatre to be announced. The announcement was made on this morning's TODAY show on NBC.

Today in 1977, Annie opened at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre), where it ran for 2377 performances. Annie is a Broadway musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan. It spawned numerous productions in many countries, as well as national tours, and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. The musical's songs 'Tomorrow' and 'It's the Hard-Knock Life' are among its most popular musical numbers.

Today in 1997, Annie opened at the Martin Beck Theatre (now the Al Hirschfeld Theatre), where it ran for 239 performances. Annie is a Broadway musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years, setting a record for the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre). It spawned numerous productions in many countries, as well as national tours, and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. The musical's songs 'Tomorrow' and 'It's the Hard-Knock Life' are among its most popular musical numbers.

Director James Lapine and Choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler talk about the return of ANNIE, which is headed to Broadway in the Fall. See audition footage and hear what the have to say about the new revival below!

The sun came out in Thousand Oaks, CA last week as Cabrillo Music Theatre proudly opened its all new production of the hit musical, Annie. ANNIE also marks the return of Sally Struthers as Miss Hannigan to the Cabrillo stage, having won a Los Angeles Stage Alliance Ovation Award for her performance as the Fairy Godmother in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella last season. Annie opened Friday, October 14th and continues through Sunday, October 23rd, at the 1,800-seat Kavli Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, located at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks. Broadway World TV's Los Angeles Correspondent/Producer Michael Sterling and Associate Producer Jerry Evans of JLE Media Group Inc., spent a day with Ms. Struthers and the Annie company to talk about the world's beloved musical.

The singing competition returns for its sixth year and will take place at New World Stages (340 W. 50th Street) on three subsequent Saturdays - September 17th, September 24th, and October 1st. Here's Jody Cook: 'You can be a New Yorker, too', Charles Strouse. Video by Shoshana Feinstein.

As BroadwayWorld reported back in August, comedian Wanda Sykes will be leading the Media Theatre's production of ANNIE as 'Miss Hannigan' - the iconic child-hating orphanage director with an affinity for alcoholic beverages - this holiday season. Sykes will open the production on November 23 and close the production on January 16, 2011 following a Christmas absence. The production will be directed by Media Artistic Director Jesse Cline and musical directed by Tom Fosnocht. Rehearsals began November 8, 2011.

In a recent interview with NPR Music, rap superstar Jay-Z chats about his humble upbringing in Brooklyn and his life before fame. One prominent topic of conversation was one of the songs from his thrid album, which musical theatre fans should remember well- 'Hard Knock Life'.

BroadwayWorld TV's west coast correspondents Dean Butler and Michael Sterling spent an afternoon with Andrea McArdle and the cast of Musical Theatre West's production of ANNIE at the beautiful 1070-seat Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach. ANNIE, opened October 30th and continues through November 14th. Musical Theatre West Artistic Director/Producer Steven Glaudini directs with musical direction by Daniel Thomas and choreography by Roger Castellano.

Ayer por la mañana se acogía en el Teatro Nuevo Alcalá, la presentación del musical Annie ante los medios, una nueva adaptación del clásico de Broadway de 1977, que comenzará sus funciones el próximo sábado 25 de Septiembre. Es el último proyecto de la productora Theatre Properties, que mantiene de esta forma su tradición de traer a España musicales de gran formato para toda la familia. 20 profesionales, 13 niñas y un perro componen la compañía de este espectáculo, que se representará todos los sábados y domingos en el Nuevo Alcalá, a las 12:00h y 16:00h.

Dallas Theater Center opened IT'S A BIRD...IT'S A PLANE...IT'S SUPERMAN, starring Matt Cavenaugh as Clark Kent/Superman and Patrick Cassidy as arch-villain Max Menken on June 18, 2010. The production will run through July 25 at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theater at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. SUPERMAN cast member Andrew Keenan-Bolger recently recored his experience backstage for MTI on their MTISpaceshow.com network. Click below to take his tour and meet the cast.

Dallas Theater Center opened IT'S A BIRD...IT'S A PLAN...IT'S SUPERMAN, starring Matt Cavenaugh as Clark Kent/Superman and Patrick Cassidy as arch-villain Max Menken on June 18, 2010. The production will run through July 25 at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theater at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Click below for a first look at Cavenaugh in performance as Superman.

Esta semana han tenido lugar en Madrid las audiciones para el musical Annie, que se estrenará en el Teatro Nuevo Apolo el próximo 9 de Octubre. Cerca de 400 niñas entre 6 y 12 años se presentaron con la esperanza de llegar a interpretar a la joven Annie, o alguna de las otras 12 huérfanas de la historia. BroadwayWorld Spain pudo asistir a una de estas audiciones en el Círculo Catalán de Madrid, en la que las niñas realizaron pruebas de danza y canto.

A FAMILY IS A FAMILY IS A FAMILY: A Rosie O'Donnell CELEBRATION is a moving portrait of the remarkable diversity of families today that challenges stereotypes, highlighting same-sex parents, mixed-heritage families, single parents and stories of adoption.

Roundabout Theatre Company's (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) limited engagement of Bye Bye Birdie will play its final performance on Sunday, January 24th at 2:00 PM.

The magical procession returned to the Big Apple this November as the 83rd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade kicked off the 2009 holiday season. Go behind the scenes with the cast of the Roundabout's production of Bye Bye Birdie prepared for their performance of 'Put On a Happy Face' on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Bye Bye Birdie's star Gina Gershon made a guest appearance on NBC's 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon' on Friday, October 16th at 12:35AM on channel 4. You can watch the segment right here on STAGE TUBE!

Bye Bye Birdie celebrated Opening Night on Thursday, October 15th at the new Henry Miller's Theatre (124 West 43rd Street). Bye Bye Birdie stars John Stamos, Gina Gershon, Bill Irwin & Nolan Gerard Funk with Jayne Houdyshell, Dee Hoty, Matt Doyle, Jake Evan Schwencke and Alllie Trimm. BroadwayWorld and Broadway Beat were on hand to welcome the revival and bring you this MEGA preview featuring interviews with the cast, creative and tons of clips to satisfy even the most rabid 'Birdie' fans!