Charles Strouse

Put on a Happy Face – It’s Charles Strouse!

Musical theater fans packed Merkin Concert Hall last Monday night to enjoy the sweet, hum-able tunes of longtime Broadway composer Charles Strouse, who was in attendance for the event. “Welcome to the Theater,” the concert’ ;s title, refers to a powerful solo song from Strouse’s musical Applause (which is based on the film All About Eve ) in which the character of Margo Channing introduces Eve Harrington to “The Magic and the Glow” of the Broadway stage.

From 1960 to the present, Strouse’s Broadway shows have included Bye Bye Birdie and Annie , two of the biggest hits of all time, partly because they often appear in high school and community theater productions. His other shows include two respectable hits of their times – Golden Boy and Applause – and a string of flops including All American; It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman; Dance a Little Closer; Nick and Nora; Bring Back Birdie; Rags ; and Annie Warbucks . Although one is more likely to see a production of Annie rather than Annie Warbucks, tunes from most of Strouse’s shows were spotlighted at the concert, with the exception – perhaps for the better – of the disastrous 1980s sequel Bring Back Birdie.

Earlier this theater season, the Kaufman Center’s Broadway Close Up series presented a concert dedicated to the songs of William Finn. The concert was a smashing success because his songs, all of which were from his original musicals, also work well when performed apart from the shows because most were written as independent narrative pieces, such as those from Elegies . Although many of Charles Strouse’s songs have become national treasures including “Tomorrow” and “Put on a Happy Face,” they function best while taking place in the midst of a show’s narrative. As a result, many performances at Monday night’s lacked direction because they were performed out of dramatic context.

Sixteen singers performed at the concert, ranging from Penny Fuller, who appeared in the original Broadway cast of Applause, to a trio of children from The Broadway Kids, who performed an Annie medley. Also performing was Charles Strouse himself at the end of the concert, who treated the audience to renditions of “Those Were the Days” from the television show All in the Family and “Music,” a new song which he has written for a new musical entitled You Never Know. Strouse treated us to a preview of a song, the touching “My Star” from Marty, a new show heading for Broadway.

Of the show’s performers, the most impressive vocal and dramatic renditions came from Jerry Dixon, which included “Night Song” from Golden Boy, “Never Would Have Worked” from Dance a Little Closer , and “Somebody’s Gotta Do Somethin’” from Annie Warbucks . Also memorable was the exciting flair of Laura Marie Duncan, who zestfully performed “You’ve Got Possibilities” from It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman and “No Man is Worth It” from Dance a Little Closer.

One wonders why director Sean Hartley bothered to add an Annie segment to the show, if only to spotlight children among a cast of professional singers, because the musical score is so well-known. Another odd decision was to allow Jeff Leoffelholz to perform “How Lovely to Be a Woman” from Bye Bye Birdie while dressed in women’s clothing. In the middle of the lyric “How wonderful to know the things a woman knows,” Leoffelholz ad-libbed to the audience “Oh, I know!” While his performance may have seemed like a cute idea on paper, such an attempt to add campy humor did not mix easily with the show’s other straightforward performances.

The event provided a valuable opportunity to hear many of Charles Strouse’ s lesser-known songs performed in a professional setting. After all, if not for a salute to Charles Strouse or one of his lyricists (who have included Lee Adams, Alan Jay Lerner, Martin Charnin, Stephen Schwartz, and Richard Maltby) when is one likely to hear the beautiful ballad “Once Upon a Time” from All American , or the humorous duet “Three Sunny Rooms” from Rags? Hidden in the American musical theater songbook, these songs are worth discovering.

Charles Strouse: “Welcome to the Theater”

Kaufman Center presents Broadway Close Up

Merkin Concert Hall

Monday, May 10, 2004 at 8 pm

Starring: Ann Crumb, Jerry Dixon, Laura Marie Duncan, Penny Fuller, Anita Gillette, Maree Johnson, Eddie Korbich, Aaron Lazar, Jeff Leoffelholz, Nora Mae Lyng, Ann Morrison, Anne Torsiglieri, Rachel York, The Broadway Kids (Arianna Claire Vogel, Jill Schackner, Gemini Quintos)