| Charles Strouse Charles Strouse, a long-standing member of the Songwriters' Hall of Fame and, in January 2002, an inductee into The Theatre Hall of Fame, is one of America's most successful musical theatre composers. His first Broadway musical, BYE BYE BIRDIE (1960), written with his long-time collaborator Lee Adams, won him a Tony Award and the London Critics Best Foreign Musical Award. In 1970, APPLAUSE, starring Lauren Bacall, achieved the same honors and his smash hit, ANNIE (1977), written with lyricist Martin Charnin and librettist Tom Meehan, also won Tony's for Best Score and Best music as well as two Grammy Awards. Among his other musicals presented on Broadway and in London's West End are ALL AMERICAN (with a book by Mel Brooks), GOLDEN BOY (starring Sammy Davis Jr.), IT'S A BIRD, IT'S A PLANE, IT'S SUPERMAN (produced and directed by Hal Prince), I AND ALBERT (directed in London by John Schlesinger), and DANCE A LITTLE CLOSER, written with Alan Jay Lerner. CHARLIE & ALGERNON won a 1981 Tony nomination for Best Score, as did RAGS in 1987 and NICK AND NORA in 1992. He wrote both the music and lyrics for off-Broadway's MAYOR, and teamed again with Martin Charnin to create ANNIE WARBUCKS, the sequel to ANNIE. Strouse's film scores include BONNIE & CLYDE, THE NIGHT THEY RAIDED MINSKY'S, and ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN. The Strouse and Adams song "Those Were The Days," the theme song for TV's ALL IN THE FAMILY, is one of the most popular television themes of all time. "Born Too Late", a 1958 pop song written with Fred Tobias, was a top-10 BILLBOARD chart hit and is still heard on many oldies stations. Strouse's musical talents include chamber and orchestral works and opera. NIGHTINGALE, an opera based on the Hans Christian Andersen story for which he wrote music, book and lyrics, was recorded by Sarah Brightman. CONCERTO AMERICA, composed in 2002 to commemorate 9/11 and the spirit of New York City, received its world premiere from the Boston Pops Orchestra on June 30, 2002, with pianist Jeffrey Biegel as soloist. ON THIS DAY, an anthem written for the White House Commission on Remembrance, was performed on Memorial Day, May 26, 2003, in front of the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington, Virginia for an audience which included the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Mr. Strouse is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, where he has returned to give master classes in musical theatre. The Eastman School has recently commissioned him to write a companion opera to NIGHTINGALE for premiere in 2004. He also studied in Paris with Nadia Boulanger and was mentored by Aaron Copland, the quintessential American composer. Through the ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop in New York, which he created and directed since its inception over fifteen years ago, countless young composers, writers and performers have found a forum for their work. In 1999, ASCAP presented Charles Strouse their coveted Richard Rodgers Award for his achievement in musical theatre. In January 2002 he was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame and later that year the American Theatre Wing honored him for his contribution to the Broadway Musical. The television adaptation of his classic BYE BYE BIRDIE (1995) won him and Lee Adams a 1995/96 Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music and Lyrics, for a new song written for and performed by Vanessa Williams: "Let's Settle Down". A 1999 television adaptation of ANNIE won two Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award and still ranks as the highest rated television musical in Neilsen history. Charles Strouse is married to choreographer/director Barbara Siman, who has collaborated on several of his works. They have four children: Benjamin, Nicholas, Victoria and William, all of whom are involved in some aspect of show business.
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