John Yap, founder of international record company JAY Records, pays tribute to his friend and collaborator, the award-winning composer Charles Strouse.
Tag Archives | Charles Strouse
Farewell to Broadway great Charles Strouse (1928-2025)
Triple Tony Award-winner Charles Strouse has passed away at the age of 96 at his home in New York. The death of the composer whose most famous work was the much-loved musical Annie was announced by his four children.
CD Review: Rags The Musical – Original London Cast Recording
RAGS THE MUSICAL – Original London Cast Recording (Ghostlight Records – download) Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Rags The Musical is my all-time favourite Strouse/Schwartz score. I absolutely loved the original (almost) Broadway version and, when I worked for a production company in London in the 1990s I tried desperately to get the […]
London cast recording of Rags – release date announced
Ghostlight Records will release Rags – The Musical: Original London Cast Recording in digital and streaming formats on 15 May 2020 with a physical CD to be made available later in the year. The first recording of the show since Sony’s 1991 album of the Broadway cast and the first to include the newest version […]
Rags: The Musical – Park Theatre
Rags: The Musical continues at the Park Theatre, London until 8 February 2020. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ In an early scene of this musical about the New York Jewish immigrant experience in the early 20th century, Carolyn Maitland’s expert seamstress Rebecca is berated by Jack (Jeremy Rose), the dressmaker for […]
Not such a hard-knock life: Remembering Martin Charnin
The American writer, lyricist and theatre director MARTIN CHARNIN has died, aged 84. His name may not be one that has the same kudos as, say, Alan Jay Lerner, Oscar Hammerstein II, or indeed Stephen Sondheim, but he was at least as successful as his theatrical peers. He may not have enjoyed the celebrity of […]
Annie in the West End – cast joining Miranda Hart revealed
Rehearsals began today (24 April 2017) for the West End production of Annie at the Piccadilly Theatre. Joining the previously announced Miranda Hart who will play Miss Hannigan are Alex Bourne as Daddy Warbucks, Holly Dale Spencer as Grace Farrell, Jonny Fines as Rooster and Djalenga Scott as Lily. The title role of Annie will be shared by Madeleine Haynes, 13 years old from Hadley Wood, Barnet; Lola Moxom, 12 years old […]
Annie – Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury and Touring
Annie continues at the Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury until 19 March, then on tour until 11 June 2016. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ However cheesy and sentimental the story of little orphan Annie becomes in this much-loved musical, first on Broadway just under 40 years ago, the message that “the sun will come out […]
Bye Bye Birdie – Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre
Bye Bye Birdie continues at Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre, London until 4 September. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ This 1960 satire on fame, rock ‘n’ roll and teenage angst in small town America is rarely staged in London, perhaps now considered too twee and too saccharine for modern audiences. But […]
Bye Bye Birdie at Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre – casting revealed
Casting has been announced for All Star Productions’ next production, a rare professional staging of the classic Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie at Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre in Walthamstow, London. With music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Lee Adams and a book by Michael Stewart, the production will run from 11 August to 4 September […]
Annie tour – Craig Revel Horwood and Lesley Joseph both play Miss Hannigan
Full casting details have been revealed for the brand new production of the musical Annie starring Craig Revel Horwood and Lesley Joseph as Miss Hannigan. The musical will open on Saturday 11 July 2015 at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle. With its award-winning book (Thomas Meehan) and score (Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin), this new production includes the songs ‘It’s the Hard Knock Life’, ‘Easy Street’, […]
Charles Strouse in cabaret – The Pheasantry
Charles Strouse performed in cabaret, with special guest Bonnie Langford, at The Pheasantry, London. Star rating: 4 stars ★ ★ ★ ★ Composer Charles Strouse is a Broadway legend, not only on account of his great age (he was born in 1928), but also for the sheer number of musical shows he has written since Bye Bye Birdie […]
It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman – Leicester Square Theatre
It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman continues at the Leicester Square Theatre, London until 21 February. Star rating: 4 stars **** Superman, the hero of the comic strip begun in 1939, has entertained adults and children in many guises for decades. In between that first appearance and the release of the Superman film starring Christopher […]
It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman – line-up revealed for transfer to Leicester Square Theatre
Casting has been revealed for the transfer of All Star Productions’ acclaimed production of It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman. The company presented the UK premiere of the show in March 2014 at Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre on the London Fringe, and its success has meant the production will take up residence from 10-21 February 2015 at the Leicester Square […]
Craig Revel Horwood to play Miss Hannigan in Annie tour
Strictly judge and choreographer Craig Revel Horwood will star as Miss Hannigan in a brand new production of the musical Annie, opening on Saturday 11 July 2015 at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle before embarking on a year-long tour. Craig Revel Horwood is probably best known as a judge on BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing. His West End theatre credits include: Munkustrap in Cats at […]
Rags the Musical in Concert – Lyric Theatre
Rags the Musical in Concert was performed at the Lyric Theatre, London on 28 April for one night only. What musical could be more appropriate than Rags, the story of the Jewish immigrants who travelled to New York at the start of the last century and their dream of being assimilated into a brave new world, […]
Maureen Lipman leads cast of Rags the Musical in Concert
Maureen Lipman has joined the cast of Rags the Musical in Concert, the show written by Joseph Stein, Charles Strouse and Stephen Schwartz, which will be presented for one night only on Monday 28 April at London’s Lyric Theatre. All proceeds from the performance go to Centrepoint – the UK’s leading charity for homeless young people. […]
Rags the Musical in Concert – casting revealed
Casting details have been revealed for Rags the Musical in Concert, the musical written by Joseph Stein, Charles Strouse and Stephen Schwartz, which will be presented for one night only on Monday 28 April at London’s Lyric Theatre. All proceeds from the performance go to Centrepoint – the UK’s leading charity for homeless young people. […]
Rags the Musical in Concert for one night only
Rags the Musical in Concert – the musical written by Joseph Stein, Charles Strouse and Stephen Schwartz – will be presented for one night only on Monday 28 April at London’s Lyric Theatre. All proceeds from the performance go to Centrepoint – the UK’s leading charity for homeless young people. Produced on Broadway in 1986, […]
It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman – Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre
It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman continues at the Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre, Walthamstow, London until 22 March. Long before superheroes were the source of blockbuster movies and 35 years before the mega-musical Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark landed on Broadway, It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman opened on […]
Superman flies in to the Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre
All Star Productions’ staging of It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman (4–22 March, press night is 7 March) at North East London’s Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre is the first UK production of this musical comedy. With a score by Charles Strouse (Annie) and Lee Adams (Bye Bye Birdie), and a book by David Newman and […]
