Charles Strouse, the American composer of such Broadway musicals as Bye Bye Birdie (1960), Applause (1970), and Annie (1977), handed away final Thursday, Might 15, at his residence in Manhattan. He was 96.
A graduate of the Eastman Faculty of Music, Strouse studied composition with Arthur Berger, David Diamond, Aaron Copland, and Nadia Boulanger. It was Boulanger who urged Strouse to domesticate his expertise as a composer for the musical theater.
On the finish of an interview, Strouse gave a touching impromptu efficiency of his most iconic hit, Tomorrow from Annie. The tune’s lyrics are by Martin Charnin.
Bye Bye Birdie, a comedy which facilities round late Fifties Rock and Roll teenage tradition and the post-war technology hole, consists of hit songs equivalent to Put On a Completely happy Face. Right here is the musical’s dazzling Entr’acte:
