In 1962, following the success of Bye Bye Birdie, composer Charles Strouse and lyricist Lee Adams teamed up with book writer Mel Brooks (largely unknown at the time) to create a new Broadway musical called All American. The show, which starred Ray Bolger, closed after 80 performances, and quickly faded from memory. But one song endured and became a standard, performed by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Tony Bennett, and …
Charles Strouse, the American composer of such Broadway musicals as Bye Bye Birdie (1960), Applause (1970), and Annie (1977), passed away last Thursday, May 15, at his home in Manhattan. He was 96. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Strouse studied composition with Arthur Berger, David Diamond, Aaron Copland, and Nadia Boulanger. It was Boulanger who urged Strouse to cultivate his talent as a composer for the musical theater. At …
Lauren Bacall, who passed away Tuesday at the age of 89, will be remembered partly as the seductive, husky-voiced film star who played opposite Humphrey Bogart throughout the 1940s in films such as To Have and Have Not, Dark Passage and Key Largo. Later, she appeared on Broadway. In 1970 she won a Tony award for her role in the musical, Applause. It was her first appearance singing onstage and she was coached by the show’s …