Charles Strouse Plays for TN Shakespeare Gala 2/10

Tennessee Shakespeare Company, the Mid-South's professional classical theatre, features legendary Broadway composer Charles Strouse in performance for its Third Annual Valentine's Gala on Friday, February 10 at 6:00 pm at Germantown Performing Arts Centre.

The benefit Gala includes a once-in-a-lifetime performance by Charles Strouse, the three-time Tony Award-winning composer of such Broadway hits as Annie, Bye Bye Birdie, and Applause, TV's All in the Family, and film's Bonnie and Clyde. The event also includes a pre-show lobby reception, pre-show conversation with Mr. Strouse, exclusive live and silent auctions, post-show dessert reception with Mr. Strouse, and the final drawing for TSC's New York City Broadway Luxury trip.

Over 500 guests are expected to attend. The evening, produced by TSC's Board of Directors and Co-Chaired by Blanche Deaderick and Margaret Wellford Tabor, is projected to earn more than $90,000 for Tennessee Shakespeare Company's education programs.

The Live Auction will include several exclusive items, including a one-week stay in a condo in Maine and a one-week stay on sunny, secluded Cumberland Island off the coast of Georgia. The Silent Auction will include over 100 items, including hotel accommodations, jewelry, dinner packages, and artwork.

"This is such a rare and fun opportunity to spend an intimate performance evening with Broadway royalty," says Producing Artistic Director Dan McCleary. "I met Mr. Strouse many years ago through our Executive Director Frank Bluestein, and he was so generous with his personal time while also playing and singing songs that are now so deeply woven into our culture and psyches. He and this rare performance are not to be missed.

"We have already sold over 300 seats and pianos (tables) for the event. After last year's successful Gala, which brought in nearly 450 guests, we anticipate using the GPAC balcony once all the reserved seats are sold. This promises to be another rare, fun, and exciting TSC event."

For more information and to reserve your seat or piano (group of ten seats) today, please call TSC Development Director Christina Torres at 901-759-0620. On-line: www.tnshakespeare.org.

THE EVENING'S SCHEDULE

6:00 pm: Cocktail Buffet with Charles Strouse (for Gold and Silver Piano ticket-holders)
7:00 pm: Silent Auction and Hors d'oeuvres
8:00 pm: Live Auction
8:15 pm: Charles Strouse Performance
9:45 pm: Dessert Reception with Charles Strouse (for Gold and Silver Piano ticket-holders)

SEAT AND PIANO CATEGORIES FOR PURCHASE

A). Platinum - Concert Grand Piano Ticket Holder ($5,000 or $500/ticket)
1) Listed in the Playbill as the evening's Concert Grand Piano Sponsor
2) Ten seats in the very best center orchestra section
3) Invitation to lavish buffet dinner with Charles Strouse at 6 PM and Silent Auction
4) Invitation to post-show dessert reception with Charles Strouse
5) Personally autographed copy of the Charles Strouse book – Put On A Happy Face
6) Two Complimentary Raffle Tickets

B). Gold - Grand Piano Ticket Holder ($2,500 or $250/ticket)
1) Ten seats in an excellent orchestra section
2) Invitation to lavish buffet dinner with Charles Strouse at 6 PM and Silent Auction
3) Invitation to post-show dessert reception with Charles Strouse
4) Autographed copy of the Charles Strouse book – Put On A Happy Face
5) Two Complimentary Raffle Tickets

C). Silver - Studio Piano Ticket Holder ($1,250 or $125/ticket)
1) Ten seats in the orchestra section
2) Invitation to hors d'oeuvres reception in GPAC lobby at 7 PM and Silent Auction
3) Invitation to post-show dessert reception with Charles Strouse

D). Copper - Keyboard Piano Ticket Holder ($500)
1) Four seats in the orchestra section
2) Invitation to hors d'oeuvres reception in GPAC lobby at 7 PM and Silent Auction

E). Brass - Middle C Piano Ticket Holder ($250)
1) Two seats in the orchestra section
2) Invitation to hors d'oeuvres reception in GPAC lobby at 7 PM and Silent Auction

F). True Blue - Johnny One-Note Piano Ticket Holder ($125)
1) One seat in the orchestra section
2) Invitation to hors d'oeuvres reception in GPAC lobby at 7 PM and Silent Auction

Charles Strouse BIOGRAPHY

The music of Charles Strouse has touched the life of almost every American in the last half century. There may be no other living composer from America's songbook whose work is as integrated into the popular culture as that of Charles Strouse.

His music has attracted top recording artists such as Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Bobby Darin, Harry Connick, Jr., Jay–Z, Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone, and Duke Ellington and his Orchestra.
Strouse has written scores for over 30 stage musicals, including 14 for Broadway. He has also composed scores for five Hollywood films, two orchestral works, and an opera. He has been inducted to the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Theatre Hall of Fame. He is a three–time Tony Award winner, a two–time Emmy Award winner, and his cast recordings have earned him two Grammy Awards. His song "Those Were the Days" launched over 200 episodes of All in the Family. His musicals Annie and Bye Bye Birdie are among the most popular of all time.

His first Broadway musical, Bye Bye Birdie (1960), was written with his long–time collaborator Lee Adams, and starred Dick Van Dyke, Chita Rivera, and Paul Lynde. It produced hit songs including "Put on a Happy Face," "A Lot of Livin' to Do," and the fan anthem "We Love You Conrad." The show won Strouse a Tony Award and the London Critics Best Foreign Musical Award.

In 1970, Applause, a musical adaptation of All About Eve starring Lauren Bacall, achieved the same honors, earning Strouse his second Tony. In 1977, Strouse teamed with lyricist Martin Charnin and librettist Thomas Meehan on the Broadway musical Annie. Running for 2,377 performances and yielding countless productions around the world, Strouse's score included "Tomorrow," "It's the Hard–Knock Life," "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile," and "I Don't Need Anything But You." The Broadway phenomenon earned Strouse his third Tony Award.

Strouse has also garnered Tony nominations for his Broadway scores of Golden Boy (1966), an adaptation of the Clifford Odetts classic starring Sammy Davis Jr.; Charlie & Algernon (1980), a musical based on the Daniel Keyes novel Flowers for Algernon; Rags (1986), a collaboration with Stephen Schwartz and Joseph Stein starring opera star Teresa Stratas; and Nick and Nora (1991), a musical based on Dashiell Hammett's The Thin Man characters, written with Richard Maltby, Jr. and Arthur Laurents.

Strouse's film scores include Bonnie & Clyde (1967), for which he received a Grammy nomination for Best Original Film Score, There Was a Crooked Man (1970), with Henry Fonda and Kirk Douglas, The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968), Sidney Lumet's Just Tell Me What You Want, and the animated feature All Dogs Go To Heaven (1989).

To television audiences, Strouse is best known for his song "Those Were the Days." His other television credits include scores for the television musicals Alice in Wonderland, Lyle, Lyle Crocodile, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible No Good, Very Bad Day, and Annie–A Royal Adventure.

TSC Season Sponsors: Dunbar Abston Fund for Sustainable Excellence, Barbara B. Apperson Angel Fund, City of Germantown, Nancy and Dan Copp, Germantown Performing Arts Centre, Milton T. Schaeffer, Dr. Owen B. and Margaret Tabor Family, Audrey L. Taylor

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