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Think Audio: 'Superman' Composer Charles Strouse


by Jerome Weeks 23 Jun 2010 4:22 PM

North Texas has something of a mini-Charles Strouse festival going on. The Broadway composer is represented here by Lyric Stage’s revival of ‘Bye Bye Birdie,’ his first big hit from 1960, and the Dallas Theater Center’s new, revised version of ‘It’s a Bird.. It’s a Plane… It’s Superman’ — opening Friday. Jerome Weeks, guest-hosting on Think for Krys Boyd, talks with Strouse about rock ‘n’ roll, comic books, Latin rhythms and Krypton lullabies.
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A scene from the 1966 Broadway show, It’s a Bird … It’s a Plane … It’s Superman

North Texas has something of a mini-Charles Strouse festival going on. The Broadway composer is represented here by Lyric Stage’s full-orchestra revival of Bye Bye Birdie, his first big hit from 1960, and the Dallas Theater Center’s new, revised version of one of his near-misses, the 1966 musical, It’s a Bird.. It’s a Plane… It’s Superman — which opens Friday.

Jerome Weeks, guest-hosting on Think for Krys Boyd, talks with Strouse about the rock ‘n roll influence on Birdie, the four new numbers he’s added to Superman (including a Krypton lullaby and the Boy Scout pledge set to music) and setting the musical back into 1939 — making this Strouse’s second musical, after Annie, that’s set in the Depression and the New Deal.

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About Jerome Weeks

Jerome Weeks is the Senior Arts Reporter/Producer for KERA. Previously at The Dallas Morning News, he was the book columnist for 10 years and the drama critic for 10 years before that. His writing has appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, Salon, Los Angeles Times, Newsday, American Theatre and Men’s Vogue magazines. View more about Jerome Weeks.

COMMENTS

  • I really enjoyed this interview, Jerome. I actually sat in the car for 20-minutes to hear the entire thing before going into a meeting!