You’ve Got Possibilities

Sydney Carlton

Linda Lavin

It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman

Charles Strouse

Charles Strouse

- Born New York, New York, June 7th, 1928

- Charles Strouse is an American composer and lyricist.
- His most mentionable works are Annie and Bye, Bye, Birdie.
- Bye, Bye, Birdie was his first Broadway hit, which he collaborated on with Lee Adams; who soon
came to be his long-term writing partner.
- His musical’s Bye, Bye, Birdie and Applause both won the Tony Award for Best Musical, and he
also won the award for Best Original score for Annie.
- Style: ragtime style, popular music of the day kind of feel/a little bit jazzy

Song/Show Research

- This show was based on the DC Comic Book character Superman.

- The musical opened on March 29th, 1966 and closed on July 17th, 1966, with a total of 129
performances.
- The show did fairly well on Broadway, but didn’t attract the theatre-going public like it was
meant to.
- The original cast featured Bob Holiday as the title character, Clark Kent/Superman, alongside
Patricia Marand as Lois Lane, Jack Cassidy as Max Mencken and Linda Lavin as Sydney Carlton.
- The plot revolves around Superman's efforts to defeat Dr. Abner Sedgwick, a ten-time Nobel
Prize-losing scientist who seeks to avenge the scientific world's dismissal of his brilliance by
attempting to destroy the world's symbol of good. Additionally, Superman comes into romantic
conflict with Max Mencken, a columnist for the Daily Planet newspaper, who resents Lois Lane's
attraction to Superman, and later teams up with Sedgwick to destroy Superman.
- This song is about Sydney flirting with Superman.

Character Research

- Sydney Carlton is the “pert” secretary of Max Mencken at the Daily Planet. She is said to be
beautiful, sarcastic, funny and smart. Her character throughout the show develops a crush on
Clark Kent, and tries to pursue him as a dateable option.
Elements of the Composer’s Musical Style that is Evident in the Song

- 50’s/60’s esque style,

- fits with the popular style of the time