Composer C. Strouse Will Discuss His New Memoir

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LENOX - Charles Strouse, multiple award-winning composer of such musicals as Annie and Bye Bye Birdie, will discuss his new memoir, “Put on a Happy Face” and perform some of his most memorable compositions at the Lenox Library on Wednesday, August 13 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Just about anyone who can hum knows and loves Charles Strouse’s music. He has composed some of the most successful shows in Broadway history (Annie, Bye Bye Birdie, Applause, and Golden Boy); written the film score for Bonnie and Clyde as well as the unforgettable theme song for All in the Family; has been sampled by one of today’s biggest rap stars—Jay-Z, in the Grammy-winning Hard Knock Life and his songs have been sung by such musical greats as Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and Barbra Streisand.

Timed to coincide with public celebrations of Charles Strouse’s 80th birthday, “Put on a Happy Face” provides an insider’s glimpse of Broadway, Hollywood, and beyond. Strouse candidly and humorously relates the behind-the-curtain stories of his many successes and occasional failures, as well as revealing fascinating tales about the many people he’s worked with, including Carol Burnett, Gower Champion, Sammy Davis Jr., Lauren Bacall, Mel Brooks, Marilyn Monroe, Warren Beatty and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Charles Strouse’s appearance at the Lenox Library will be a homecoming of sorts for him since he was the first Margaret Lee Crofts Fellow at Tanglewood, where he studied under Aaron Copland. Charles Strouse has won three Tonys (and been nominated an additional four times), two Grammys and one Emmy.  In addition, he is a three-time Drama Desk nominee; recipient of the Richard Rodgers, the Oscar Hammerstein and the Frederick Lowe Awards, and has been elected to both the Theater Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Following his performance, Charles Strouse will be available to sign copies of “Put on a Happy Face: A Broadway Memoir.”  Copies of the book will be available for sale.

The program is free and open to the public.  Seating for this event is limited. Reservations for the event are strongly encouraged. Please call 413-637-2630.
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A Boutique Hotel is Bringing Guests a Luxury Stay in Lenox

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

LENOX, Mass. — A new Inn is bringing a boutique-style stay for visitors and locals to enjoy.

Owners, Sullivan Capital LLC, purchased the property, located on 135 Main Street, in 2024. After a year or renovations, Garden Gables Inn is open for business. 

"Garden Gables started off as one of the many Berkshire cottages, 1790 was the date on that, and it's always operated as an inn," said Hospitality Manager Yvonne Walton. "It's just a great gathering place and relaxation spot for people to come and get the feel of Lenox, and just slow down and enjoy the nature and the surrounding area...get culture and art and see some great concerts. I think it'll be a wonderful place, definitely does more of the upper-scale hospitality." 

Owners Niko Giallouis and Eric Sullivan bought the property from the former owner. Sullivan had his eye on Lenox since attending a wedding almost 10 years ago.

"I came to a wedding in Lenox, probably six or seven years ago. Personally, just kind of fell in love with the area, and I guess that's kind of how it got on my radar. So you know from that perspective, as we got into the hotel business out towards an area, it was a place I was kind of monitoring and waiting for the right property to show up."

After purchasing the two underwent a full renovation, a project that cost around $1.5 million. The building, first built in 1780, required some TLC. Sullivan's wife, Jessica, who owns Jessica Sullivan Design, designed the inn.

Sullivan said they installed a new roof, repainted everything, renovated the bathrooms, installed new floors, a new HVAC system, and new plumbing.

"We really touched everything from the outside...I mean, all the aesthetics and layouts changed a bit," he said. "As I said, put about a million and a half into it. All new furniture, fixtures, everything. The design's completely different. It wasn't a full gut, but it was a heavy, heavy renovation."

The two like to collaborate with local businesses, and they make a point to direct visitors to local restaurants, businesses, and attractions.

"If guests are asking for recommendations, our customer service team, our guest services team, will relay that kind of information. Even if we can call and make a reservation for somebody, happy to do it," he said. "We aren't doing breakfast, but what we do is we have partnerships with a lot of the breakfast places downtown. We actually purchase a gift certificates for each person each day, so that they can use that to go downtown."

Sullivan hopes that guests don't see their inn as just a place to sleep and dump their bags, but make it an experience for anyone who stays.

"We really focus on kind of the experience side of things, so again, we want to give you the best experience you can have here...and we want that not just to be the place you put your bag and go do things. It's important to think of everything," he said.

Sullivan said partnerships are important to their business and are a way to connect with locals.

"The local partnerships, I can't stress that enough, because no matter how much and how great the room is, people are still going to want to go do other things," he said. "So, I think it just benefits everybody if we're all working together and so forth, and supporting the community, being neighborly too, because we are surrounded by residential homes...But we really try to put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, a lot of love into the building, all the details, really care about the senses," Sullivan said.

The Inn's check-in and reservations are completely online. When guests arrive, all they have to do is check in online and receive their code that they will use to enter their room. Sullivan hopes this helps create less stress for guests and gets them to their room as fast as possible, especially after a long trip.

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