Charles Strouse won three Tony Awards during his illustrious career, which spanned more than five decades and saw the star compose music for Annie and Bye Bye Birdie
Broadway superstar Charles Strouse – who composed music for Annie and Applause – has died at 96.
The composer’s career spanned more than five decades and he became a leading player in classic musical theatre. He won three Tony Awards, including the 1970 gong for Best Musical for Applause.
His publicist announced the musician died at his home in New York City on Thursday. He was born in the city in 1928 and had a huge influence on the theatre since there, writing more than a dozen Broadway musicals, including Bye Bye Birdie and its sequel Bring Back Birdie 21 years later.
His scores, including pieces for films and TV shows, were catchy and popular. The optimistic anthem for Annie won the 1977 Tony Award for Best Original Score. Mr Strouse’s upbeat numbers helped drive his zest to forge a long career in the industry, writing scores until 2011 at the age of 83.
During an interview on the eve of his 80th birthday in 2008, Mr Strouse said: “When you enjoy doing what you’re doing, which I do very much, I have something to get up for. I work every day. Activity — it’s a life force.”
The composer, who is survived by his four children, visited tours of his shows and met casts in the 1990s. Jenn Thompson, who appeared in the first Annie as Pepper and directed a touring version in 2024, recalls Mr Strouse coming to auditions and shedding a tear when a young girl sang Tomorrow.
She recalled: “He was tearing up and he put his hand on mine. And he leaned in to me and very quietly said, ‘That was you. That used to be you.’ And I thought I would die. I thought my heart would drop out of my shoes… He’s so gorgeously generous and kind. He has always been that way.”
Some of the composer’s later pieces were praised too. The music for Nick & Nora was nominated for a Tony in 1992 after impressing audiences in Broadway. The play told the story about a high society couple attempting to solve the murder of a bookkeeper on a film production in Hollywood.
It was a steel reflected in Mr Strouse, who throughout his career remained determined and optimistic. He saw Annie become of the most popular musicals Broadway has seen. There has been more than 2,300 performances of the musical, based on the book by Thomas Meehan. It has toured frequently in the UK, including in 2023. Jay-Z was even a fan, and he used shards of the work for his 1998 Grammy-winning album Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life.
Even Ms Strouse’s flops contained impressive music, particularly Rags in 1986, with lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and I and Albert in 1972, a musical about Queen Victoria which had a three-month run in London and was one of Mr Strouse’s personal favorites. All-American also had a memorable ballad Once Upon a Time.
Among Mr Strouse’s film scores were the music for Bonnie and Clyde in 1967 and 1968’s The Night They Raided Minsky’s. One of his last musicals was Minsky’s. A love story set against the backdrop of the fabled burlesque empire, it was the brainchild of English director Mike Ockrent, who died of leukemia in 1999 before the project was completed. By then, Strouse and lyricist Susan Birkenhead had written some dozen songs.
The composer’s wife, Barbara, died in 2023. They had been married for more than 60 years and had four children; Ben, Nick, Victoria and William, together.
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