Like every week we post a book review on a subject related to acting, health, personal growth or anything related to the showbiz industry. This time it’s the memoirs of Charles Strouse: “Put on a Happy Face”
Strouse is an Emmy, Grammy and Tony Award winning composer. He is mostly known for his work in Annie and Bye Bye Birdie. While he is definitely one of the most talented composers there are and has enriched Broadway with such songs as “The Sun’ll come out Tomorrow…” the writing in the book is not at all easy flowing.
In the book he tells of his life experiences and obviously his many achievements. But uses too much of other well-known celebrities to give himself a boost. Name-dropping of the likes of Sammy Davis Jr, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin on Lauren Bacall.
So, Is it worth reading? While I don’t wish to demean any of Charles Strouses’ achievements and take nothing from how wonderful a person he may be, Im strictly basing my opinion on the book as a whole. And that includes the writing, the level of entertainment it offers and the flow of things. And I think it lacked level in all of the above. So NO, I would not read this book unless you truly are interested in the composers life.
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