AILSA CHANG, HOST:
The composer of musicals "Bye Bye Birdie," "Applause" and "Annie" has died at 96. Charles Strouse spent his last hours at home in New York. And if you don't know the name, you may well know the music. Jeff Lunden reports.
JEFF LUNDEN: Charles Strouse was a musical chameleon, says theater historian Laurence Maslon.
LAURENCE MASLON: Strouse was a great craftsperson. He adopted and adapted his vocabulary to whatever the needs of the particular genre were.
LUNDEN: He could write songs in the style of early rock 'n' roll...
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ONE LAST KISS")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Conrad Birdie, singing) Oh, one last kiss. Oh, give me one last kiss.
LUNDEN: ...Or Depression-era New York...
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "YOU'RE NEVER FULLY DRESSED WITHOUT A SMILE")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Bert Healy, singing) Hey, hobo man. Hey, Dapper Dan. You've both got your style, but brother, you're never fully dressed without a smile.
LUNDEN: ...Or ultra-groovy 1970s New York.
(SOUNDBITE OF CHARLES STROUSE SONG, "BUT ALIVE")
LUNDEN: Strouse was classically trained at the Eastman School of Music and worked with American composer Aaron Copland. He was making a living playing rehearsal piano for Broadway shows when a stage manager, who wanted to be a producer, approached him, he told me in 2008.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
CHARLES STROUSE: He said to me, I hear you write music. And I said, yes, I do. He said, I have an idea for a show about teenagers. Would I be interested? I said, would I?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE TELEPHONE HOUR")
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP #1: (As characters, singing) Did they really get pinned? Going steady.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP #2: (As characters, singing) She saw him.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP #1: (As characters, singing) I was hoping they would. Going steady.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP #2: (As characters, singing) She loved him.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP #1: (As characters, singing) Now they're living at last. Going steady.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP #2: (As characters, singing) She never.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP #1: (As characters, singing) Going steady for good.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP #2: (As characters, singing) If you got to go, that's the way to go.
LUNDEN: The show was "Bye Bye Birdie." It opened in 1960, and even though The New York Times gave it a pan - calling it neither fish nor fowl nor musical comedy - it became an enormous hit, winning the Tony for best musical. And since then, it's been one of the most performed shows in community theaters and high schools.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
STROUSE: It's a wonderful feeling. And I am modest, though not humble in any way, but I'm a very lucky man.
LUNDEN: And he became a very rich man. Though he suffered a string of flops afterwards, Strouse had another Tony Award-winning smash with "Applause," a musical version of "All About Eve" in 1970.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "APPLAUSE")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Bonnie, singing) 'Cause you've had a taste of the sound that says love - applause, applause, applause.
LUNDEN: Strouse heard even more applause and won a Tony Award for best score with "Annie," based on the comic strip, "Little Orphan Annie" in 1977. He said the best-known song from that score, "Tomorrow," was written in rehearsal to cover a set change.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
STROUSE: She found the dog, and she had to, in 12 seconds, let's say, get back to the orphanage. So we needed a song there.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TOMORROW")
ANDREA MCARDLE: (As Annie, singing) The sun will come out tomorrow. So you got to hang on till tomorrow, come what may. Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you, tomorrow. You're always a day away.
LUNDEN: Andrea McArdle was 12 years old when she starred in "Annie."
MCARDLE: My favorite thing was to listen to him play his songs. Not every composer is as charming as Charles Strouse is when he plays his music.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
STROUSE: (Singing) Gray skies are going to clear up. Put on a happy face.
LUNDEN: The composer kept working into his 80s on new projects at a time when most creators would have been happy resting on their accomplishments.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
STROUSE: I love composing. I love it, you know? And if I'm not composing, if I don't have a new project or something, I'm rather at a loss of what to do.
LUNDEN: For NPR News, I'm Jeff Lunden in New York. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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