This sharply humorous and deeply poignant memoir by Mary Rodgers, daughter of Richard Rodgers, the famous composer of musicals, reveals that appearances are often misleading. The book is written from notes by Mary Rodgers, who died in 2014, and Jesse Green, chief theater critic of the New York Times from 2013-2017.
Shy: The Alarming Outspoken Memoirs of Mary Rodgers is so well written that Mary Rodgers seems to be still alive and talking directly to you. The footnotes added to the bottom of every page complement the text with specific facts, places, and times.
The book establishes that Mary Rodgers had a great talent for writing popular music and creating entertaining scripts for television as well as writing children’s books. However, she was never appreciated by her father, Richard Rodgers, who was, in her own words, “egoistical, a perfectionist, an alcoholic, and a womanizer.”
Some things in the book are painful to discover about a famous person, like Richerd Rodgers, who gave us so much joy in his musicals on Broadway and whose music still lasts today in summer stock, films, and Broadway revivals. However, the reality of growing up in a creative aristocracy was not fun for Mary. It was competitive and lonely. Yet, she was a survivor, and her personal struggle to survive creatively, plus her insight into people she meets in the entertainment world, are fascinating.
Mary was born in 1931 and went to Wellesley College but left college to get married in 1951. She writes with candid honesty and sharp humor about her unhappy marriage but moves on to be a creative person.
In 1957, Ms. Rodgers went with Stephen Sondheim to Washington, where “West Side Story,” for which he had written the lyrics, was opening. At a dinner, she met the show’s composer, Leonard Bernstein. He hired her to help write and produce the television shows of Bernstein’s New York Philharmonic Young People’s Concerts, a job she held for more than a decade. She mentioned in the book that Bernstein told her that he was afraid to do a television show for children because he knew nothing about children. She encouraged him to do it and helped write it. The young people's concerts on television were a great success. Bernstein was a natural teacher, and he came to love the series.
Mary Rodgers was not only a creative person in her own right, but she also had the ability to nurture other artistic people. That takes a special generosity of spirit and can be seen in this special book which focuses on the genius of creativity. Mary Rodgers was the author of the novel, “Freaky Friday.” She wrote the music for the Broadway play “Once Upon a Mattress” as well as many screenplays and several children’s books including, “A Billion for Boris” in 1974 and “The Rotten Book” in 1969.
Her friendship with famous people in the arts throughout her life, including her love for Stephen Sondheim, was moving and spellbinding.
Mary not only was a screenwriter, children’s book author, and musician, she was an executive and director of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, on the board of ASCAP, and at one point, the chairman of the Juilliard School.
She said about herself in an interview in The New York Magazine, ”I had a pleasant talent but not an incredible talent.” She was, however, an incredible human being who helped others express their talents. If you love Broadway musicals and enjoy books about creativity and the struggle to succeed, you will love this book. I recommend it highly.
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