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My husband came home this morning and told me Charles Strouse had died. It made me really sad. It just feels like all the good things are going away, and the bad things are predominating.
Anyway, he was 96, I guess, so he deserves to go to the big Sardi's in the sky, but still, I've been crying and wishing time would roll backwards sometimes.
Well, you know where I stand on musical theatre, so I share your sense of loss. I loved many of his musicals--Annie, Applause, Bye Bye Birdie. Those and others do harken back to different times for sure. But I'm optimistic that Lin-Manuel Miranda and other artists will continue to reinvent great theatre for a new generation. Unless Trump shuts down Hamilton because of its diverse casting of "true [white] Americans.".
I can still feel encouraged by the music and the message of "the sun'll come out tomorrow."
In keeping with my disinterest in musical theater, I had no idea who Charles Strouse is.
I had to sit through a production of Bye-bye Birdie once and it was excruciating. Unfortunately, I will have to attend our community theater’s production of Camelot this summer because we are hosting the lead actress in our house for many days. It would be churlish of me to not attend her show.
You are right, of course, especially that new artists will come along. I actually did not realize he wrote Applause!Quote:
Originally Posted by catherine
I just remembered the movie of Bye-Bye Birdie and will have to watch it with the granddaughters--they are just the right age to get a kick out of "What's the Matter with Kids Today"!Quote:
Originally Posted by iris lilies
Saturday Night Live had a spoof of Anne Margret dancing in that 1960’s sort of way, hilarious.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tybee
I heard about this listening to BBC Radio 4 today. I starting singing Tomorrow from Annie. It was a song we had to learn in elementary school music class. The musical came out in 1977 so that fit totally with the time period I learned it in. I pulled the soundtrack up on Apple Music on the way home and sang along. That led me to The Sound of Music.
Haha, yeah, once DH and I get started on a musical cast recording or soundtrack, we can't stop at one. Our family favorite is Les Miserables, but I've been known to also sob singing along to Camelot (iris, maybe you'll wind up sobbing out of frustration) and Man of La Mancha.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tradd
I probably know all the words to Funny Girl, Gypsy, Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, Oliver, and Fiddler on the Roof because I used to sing them in my room during my high school years. During our dating years, DH and I really liked Chicago and A Chorus Line.
Do you sing in your church's choir, Tradd?
Yes, I sing in church choir. Our music is all a cappella. It would be considered more classical type music.
It must be beautiful. I sang in the church choir for a couple of years and loved it. A capella is challenging!Quote:
Originally Posted by Tradd
I always wanted to learn how to tap dance and it's all due to the musicals I used to watch with my mom. South Pacific, Guys and Dolls, Sound of Music, etc. Some other favorites were featured on the 4:30 Afternoon At the Movies when I was growing up. It usually took a whole week to get through a single movie, but I loved it. Those included some musicals like Robin and The Seven Hoods, High Society, etc.
Sigh.. thanks for the memories!