- Hardcover: 336 pages
- Publisher: Union Square Press; 1 edition (1 Oct 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1402758898
- ISBN-13: 978-1402758898
- Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 14.5 x 3.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,096,154 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
Just about everyone who can hum knows and loves Charles Strouse s music. He composed some of the most successful shows in Broadway history (Annie, Bye Bye Birdie, Applause and Golden Boy); wrote the film score for Bonnie and Clyde as well as the unforgettable theme song for All in the Family; has been sampled by one of today s biggest rap stars - Jay-Z, in the Grammy-winning Hard Knock Life; and his songs have been sung by musical greats from Frank Sinatra to Ray Charles to Barbra Streisand. Timed to coincide with public celebrations of his 80th birthday, Put on a Happy Face grants an insider s glimpse of Broadway, Hollywood and beyond. With sparkling wit, Strouse relates the behind-the-curtain stories of his remarkable achievements and tells fascinating tales about the people he s worked with along the way, including Butterfly McQueen, Gower Champion, Sammy Davis Jr., Lauren Bacall, Mel Brooks, Clifford Odets, Warren Beatty, Hal Prince and Carol Burnett. Strouse is a musical-theatre legend who is as entertaining on the page as his work is on the stage!
About the Author
Charles Strouse is an Emmy, Grammy and Tony Award-winning composer. He is also a recipient of the Richard Rodgers, the Oscar Hammerstein & the Frederick Lowe Awards and has been elected to both the Theater Hall of Fame & the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Hardcover
If, like me you are a showholic, this book is a must! It's not often that composers produce a `memoir' but here's a fascinating, gossipy journey down fifty years of Broadway musicals. For, amongst many others, Charles Strouse provided the music for the `60s hits 'Bye, Bye Birdie', the first rock `n roll musical (which confirmed stardom on Dick Van Dyke and Chita Rivera), 'Golden Boy' (for Sammy Davis Jnr); in the `70s 'Applause' (for Lauren Bacall and surely ripe for revival) - and of course, the almighty 'Annie' (with Martin Charnin). He also provided scores for the films 'Bonnie and Clyde' and 'The Night They Raided Minsky's'.
All the agonies of producing a Broadway show from gestation through to opening night are narrated with wit and feeling. Along the way he also punctures a number of legendary egos, whilst having nothing but praise for compatriots such as Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden and Adolph Green.
Strouse started as a serious composer before teaming up with Lee Adams, his most regular lyricist. After various small-scale works, they eventually came up with 'Birdie', followed by the college musical 'All American' - starring the legendary dancer Ray Bolger and spawning the standard ballad `Once Upon a Time'. They also wrote 'It's a Bird ... It's a Plane ... It's Superman', though ahead of its time and not a hit, still has a great score.
A string of less successful, but well-crafted shows followed, three of which opened in London: the handsomely mounted ensemble piece 'I And Albert' (based on the life of Queen Victoria) directed in 1972 by John Schlesinger, and a few years later, 'Flowers For Algernon' from the film 'Charly' with a tour de force performance from the pre-Phantom Michael Crawford. There was also a children's opera based on a Hans Andersen tale, 'The Nightingale', at the Lyric Hammersmith in 1982 starring a young Sarah Brightman.
Now eighty, and despite the disappointment of flops such as 'Rags' and 'Nick and Nora'Strouse seems as enthusiastic about composing as ever. Whilst we can't be sure there'll be another Annie, I wouldn't put it past him! Highly recommended! Put on a Happy Face: A Broadway Memoir,
All the agonies of producing a Broadway show from gestation through to opening night are narrated with wit and feeling. Along the way he also punctures a number of legendary egos, whilst having nothing but praise for compatriots such as Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden and Adolph Green.
Strouse started as a serious composer before teaming up with Lee Adams, his most regular lyricist. After various small-scale works, they eventually came up with 'Birdie', followed by the college musical 'All American' - starring the legendary dancer Ray Bolger and spawning the standard ballad `Once Upon a Time'. They also wrote 'It's a Bird ... It's a Plane ... It's Superman', though ahead of its time and not a hit, still has a great score.
A string of less successful, but well-crafted shows followed, three of which opened in London: the handsomely mounted ensemble piece 'I And Albert' (based on the life of Queen Victoria) directed in 1972 by John Schlesinger, and a few years later, 'Flowers For Algernon' from the film 'Charly' with a tour de force performance from the pre-Phantom Michael Crawford. There was also a children's opera based on a Hans Andersen tale, 'The Nightingale', at the Lyric Hammersmith in 1982 starring a young Sarah Brightman.
Now eighty, and despite the disappointment of flops such as 'Rags' and 'Nick and Nora'Strouse seems as enthusiastic about composing as ever. Whilst we can't be sure there'll be another Annie, I wouldn't put it past him! Highly recommended! Put on a Happy Face: A Broadway Memoir,
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
10 reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Fascinating, impossible to put down
9 July 2008
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Well written, funny as hell, and eminently readable "Put On a Happy Face" is as entertaining as any of Charles Strouse's best shows. In this book, whose title is taken from one of his many standards, Strouse takes us on a journey through the Broadway musical theater of the last fifty years. Along the way we meet the legends with whom he has worked (and with whom he has occasionally battled): David Merrick, Mel Brooks, Lauren Bacall, Dick Van Dyke, Gower Champion, Joshua Logan, Mike Nichols, Arthur Laurents, Alan Jay Lerner. He demonstrates how tough it is to write a musical and how much tougher it is to get it produced, only to have the critics break your heart. But he also shows the exhilaration and thrills when the show is a smash hit, like Bye Bye Birdie, Applause, or Annie.He clears up the confusion regarding his (and Lee Adams') contributions to Hello, Dolly!, especially laying to rest once and for all (one hopes) the rumors concerning the true authorship of "Before the Parade Passes By."
Strouse has had a fabulous career. Besides the hit shows, so many of his songs have become standards: "Tomorrow," "You've Got Possibilities," "Once Upon a Time," "Kids," "A Lot of Livin' To Do," and others. Buffs worship his score for Rags. His title song for Dance a Little Closer is gorgeous. His theme song for All in the Family --- "Those Were the Days" is one of the best known tv themes ever. If you analyze "The Telephone Hour" measure by measure, you will be astonished by the musicianship. In person, Charles Strouse is warm, gracious, and, to borrow the title of one of his songs, a "perfect gentleman." All that talent and honest personality come through in the pages of this book.
Don't miss it.
Strouse has had a fabulous career. Besides the hit shows, so many of his songs have become standards: "Tomorrow," "You've Got Possibilities," "Once Upon a Time," "Kids," "A Lot of Livin' To Do," and others. Buffs worship his score for Rags. His title song for Dance a Little Closer is gorgeous. His theme song for All in the Family --- "Those Were the Days" is one of the best known tv themes ever. If you analyze "The Telephone Hour" measure by measure, you will be astonished by the musicianship. In person, Charles Strouse is warm, gracious, and, to borrow the title of one of his songs, a "perfect gentleman." All that talent and honest personality come through in the pages of this book.
Don't miss it.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
A Must For Musical Theatre Fans!
4 July 2008
Format:Hardcover
Charles Strouse is one of the last of a generation of great tune smiths. Broadway composers who could, as Richard Rodgers said, "piss good melodies." No matter what the show, Strouse could be counted upon to come up with great singable, hummable and even memorable tunes. He didn't always have hit shows, but when he did they were shows like Bye Bye Birde and Annie. This book tells a lot about the hits and also offers some wonderful anecdotes and insights into the various flops. Strouse isn't afraid to say what is one his mind and ruffle some feathers. The sections on Golden Boy and Sammy Davis Jr. and especially the Nick and Nora chapter that tells us more than we knew about Arthur Laurents are especially tasty. Unlike many memoirs, Charles personal life is handled very well and I was not bored for a second at the part I usually like to skip: the childhood. Charles ties it all in to his career and how the music was made and where it came from. One of the best memoirs to come down the pike in a while. Highly recommended to anyone interested in theatre, music or film.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
A candid entertaining and heartwarming autobiography
12 July 2008
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
A must-read for all fans of musical theatre, this heart-warming candid and funny autobiography provides a fascinating look into the world of showbusiness. Charles Strouse writes candidly about his ups-and-downs in showbusiness, the nagging insecurities that have followed him throughout his career and of course provides juicy tidbits about Teresa Stratas, Arthur Laurents, Leondard Bernstein and more.
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