Broadway Bound: A Celebration of Charles Strouse

A selection of songs from Charles Strouse musicals that never made it to Broadway and stories from those who had the pleasure of working with him.

By Alix Cohen

The 8th iteration of Broadway Bound, unlike its predecessors, salutes a single artist. Charles Strouse, whom we lost this year, was by all reports as beloved as he was talented. Warmth permeates the well curated evening. “Many composers feel that their greatest works were heard by Broadway audiences, but Charles felt some of his favorite musical moments were written for shows that either never came to New York or never even left the development stage.” Charles Kirsch

Songs from the touching, Marty (adapted from the 1955 film- lyricist Lee Adams) open this evening. At Boston’s Huntington Theatre, “John C. Reilly ripped his heart out every night as the lonely Bronx butcher” librettist Rupert Holmes tells us with frustrated recollection. Though “sweet and puckish” Strouse “could find a cloud in every silver lining,” he adds.

In “She Sees Who I Am” Christopher DeProphetis’ Marty is shocked and thrilled by Clara’s wanting to see him again. Vocal rises from heart and gut. As Clara, with “Clara The Turtle”, Margery Cohen is painfully shy and sympathetic.

Two Strouse sequels to successful musicals flopped. Bring Back Birdie (after Bye Bye Birdie– lyricist Lee Adams) and Annie Warbucks (after Annie– lyricist Martin Charnin) both died on the vine. MD Michael Lavine was a student of lyricist Lee Adams during the first. “The bad news is we’re closing Saturday. The good news is we just sold “Put On a Happy Face” to Windex”, Adams told the class.

“Annie Warbucks started in 1990 as Annie 2: Miss Hannigan’s Revenge… The show was about Miss Hannigan replacing Annie with a doppelganger to get Warbucks’ money and then drowning her. Not kidding.” Rob Schneider tells us.

Paula Leggett Chase wistfully remembers giving Strouse a lift from Goodspeed Opera House (where she was in Birdie) to New York (where she was in A Chorus Line) during which he diverted her with priceless stories. “All Dolled Up” (Annie Warbucks) makes it easy to imagine the actress as Miss Hannigan. Miming the two shows instead of sustaining character, however, is distracting. Robbie Rozelle contributes a sweet, optimistic “Don’t Leave Me Now.” (Lyle, Lyle Crocodile commissioned by HBO Storybook Theater- lyricist Charles Strouse)

Margo Sappington unwittingly found herself in 2005’s Real Men (lyricist Charles Strouse) at Coconut Grove Playhouse in Florida. Otherwise a choreographer, she returned to the stage to play “kind of a Harpo Marx mime/dance figure,” costumed as a man until the finale. Michael Lavine leaves the piano to sing “Things.” He’s hysterical. The moan is priceless, apoplexy palpable. Deniz Cordell- piano

“I Don’t Want to Grow Old” (lyricist Charles Strouse) began as a freestanding song included in the revue By Strouse, then found its way into four more shows. Janine LaManna delivers a thoughtful, silky rendition. A Pound in Your Pocket was based on Charles Dickens’ The Old Curiosity Shop. Matt Koplik’s interpretation of “Someone Who Cares” is fresh and credible.

Just graduating high school, Grace Kiamie performs “A Singer Must Be Free” which made a star of Sarah Brightman. (The 1982 opera Nightingale based on Hans Christen Andersen’s story- lyricist Charles Strouse ) Kiamie is earnest, her pretty soprano just learning to take flight. “For a song to be beautiful, an artist must be free,” she sings. Deniz Cordell- Piano

Cordell, introduced as the celebrant’s protégé, was graced with support, inspiration, and friendship during Strouse’s last years. He exuberantly performs “Music” (You Never Know– lyricist Charles Strouse)

Madame La Gimp (a Damon Runyon short story) which became the films Lady for a Day 1933 and Pocket Full of Miracles 1961, was imagined as a musical vehicle for Elaine Stritch. With the help of warm-hearted gangster Dave the Dude, street person Apple Annie masquerades as a social doyenne so her European-schooled daughter can marry well.

Like many artists on stage tonight, Mary Callanan had history with the composer- as Faith Prince’s understudy in Annie. Her version of “Too Young To Be Old” from Strouse’s Lady for a Day (lyricist Hal David) is utterly charming.

Broadway legend Len Cariou originated roles in two Strouse musicals, Applause (lyricist Lee Adams) the actor’s Broadway debut, and Dance a Little Closer (lyricist Alan Jay Lerner) his last musical. Excited to see the Applause tear sheet go up in Baltimore, the artist discovered he was billed as BEN Cariou. He shrugs. The vicissitudes of show business. “It Was Always You” as sung to Lauren Bacall, emerges understated, shimmering with truth.

Aeja L. Barrows and LaDonna Burns duet “Making It” from Bojangles (lyricist Sammy Cahn), the not so perfect life of Bill Bojangles Robinson and the racist world that shaped him. This selection was confusing for lack of a set-up. The ladies ably handle counterpoint with brightness and presence.

Lyricist Richard Maltby Jr. ruefully relates that trying to forget the fate of Nick and Nora, his collaboration with Strouse, was impossible when newspapers headlined Spiderman usurped its title for “longest running preview on Broadway.”

In character as a self-described “rich union guy with the hots for Nora,” Maltby Jr. sings, “It’s a Spanish villa/One of L.A.’s more impressive shacks/All it lacks is class…” Any song performed by this artist is given advantage. Portrayal is understated, sincere and moving.

“Han’s Your Man”, written with Lee Adams for a television musical about Star Wars, showcases the collaborators’ playful side. George Abud is marvelously animated; cocky and droll with a dash of Jimmy Durante.

An illuminating and entertaining evening.

Photos by Maryann Lopinto
Photo of Rob Schneider & Charles KIrsch- Alix Cohen
Opening Photo Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

Broadway Bound: A Celebration of Charles Strouse
Hosts: Rob Schneider and Charles Kirsch
MD/Piano- Michael Lavine
Selected Piano- Deniz Cordell
54Below 254 West 54th Street https://54below.org/