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PUT ON A HAPPY FACE by Charles Strouse

Book
Reviewed by Jason Fortner

The newly released memoir of Broadway baby Charles Strouse is a breezy, easy read. It bounces along with a jaunty beat, alternating between lifelong insecurities, celebrity tidbits and the agony & ecstasy of creating scores for Broadway.

From the earliest efforts like BYE BYE BIRDIE on through heartbreaking failures like RAGS and DANCE A LITTLE CLOSER, Mr. Strouse is a fine storyteller, offering insight into his creative process  and the various idiosyncrasies of collaborators like Alan Jay Lerner, Arthur Laurents, Martin Charnin, Mel Brooks,  Clifford Odets, Comden & Green, Stephen Schwartz and Lee Adams, to name a few. It's a rollercoaster ride from Broadway to Hollywood to Vegas to Madison Avenue and London too, with insightful looks at the many people behind the scenes and in the spotlight in both the flops and hits. Along the way, Strouse doesn't hold back on his creative clashes, most notably those with Sammy Davis, Jr. (GOLDEN BOY), Warren Beatty (BONNIE & CLYDE) and Arthur Laurents (NICK & NORA) .

Not one to shortchange his family, Strouse also delves into the dysfunction that shaped his own psyche, fueled by a mentally unstable mother and indifferent father. According to the book,  Strouse has spent his entire life haunted by "Buddy", the chubby loser version of himself from his childhood. This uneasy ghost appears and reappears throughout the triumphs and flops, often at the most unexpected times. Strouse wrestles with this apparition as he examines his own marriage and children, allowing insight into his life over many decades.

As "And Then I Wrote" memoirs go, this one is rather unique, as our protagonist is often his own worst critic, creating odd juxtapositions of praise and damnation. Now 80 years old, this book seems part memoir and part self catharsis for Mr. Strouse, allowing him to publicly reveal perceived personal shortcomings and make amends for professional (and private) transgressions of the past. But even when delving into the clashes he has had with others in the business, Mr. Strouse most often takes the high road and often blames himself for the problems encountered. Particularly interesting are his internal  battles  with racism and feelings of musical inadequacy that plague him over the years, leading us to such unexpected places as the March on Selma and  years at the Eastman School of Music.

Lest I make it seem all deep and profound, let me assure you that the book is mostly fun, with juicy stories of the creation of such shows as APPLAUSE, GOLDEN BOY, IT'S A BIRD IT'S A PLANE IT'S SUPERMAN, MAYOR, BRING BACK BIRDIE, A BROADWAY MUSICAL, I & ALBERT, CHARLEY & ALGERNON, and all three stage variations of the ANNIE saga. Mix in film scores, off-Broadway and TV theme songs (ALL IN THE FAMILY), plus the occasional show doctor gigs (HELLO, DOLLY!) , and you've got a rich and varied look at Broadway over the past 50 years, warts and all. With a cast of supporting characters that includes Leonard Bernstein, Lauren Bacall, Jerry Herman, David Merrick, Dick Van Dyke, Jack Cassidy, Teresa Stratas, Chita Rivera and even Dr. Martin Luther King, the Strouse story is one of the end of an era and the  beginning of the new contemporary Broadway scene.  Through it all Mr. Strouse tells an engaging tale, filled with humor, pathos and loads of humanity.

I thoroughly recommend it!

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