Mary Rodgers on Broadway

I went back to the Mary Rodgers memoir, just because so many critics ranked it high in "best-of-year" lists, and here are the stories that really startle me:

*When Mary's toddler died, Mary's icy mother said, "I guess you'll need to gather the remaining children and drive across the state to our house, in Connecticut...." (You can't make that up.)

*When Mary's own child, Adam Guettel, was in the running for a Best Musical Tony Award, he turned to his mother to express his love. And Mary said, correctly, "You're about to lose. The winner will be SPAMALOT."

*When Mary offered a candid assessment of ANYONE CAN WHISTLE, the writer, Arthur Laurents, said, "I hate you, and everyone in the cast hates you. Don't come with us to Philadelphia."

*Mary's sister had Juilliard-level talent, but Dick and Dorothy Rodgers did not think that anyone should pursue an unpleasant life as a classical musician. So they simply failed to tell their kid that various high-profile recruiters had expressed an interest. Mary had to spill the beans (and it seems this moment of honesty didn't score any points for Mary, because she and her sister could then manage to laugh together only "once every fifteen or twenty years").

*Mary regrets making use of Sara Jessica Parker in the Broadway revival of ONCE UPON A MATTRESS. "My heroine needs to have a huge personality. She needs to be likable. She needs to be funny. And she needs to sing well. Sara Jessica Parker? Well, she was likable...."

I think you don't have to love Mary Rodgers to enjoy this book. I think it's generous to spill so many secrets. We all have messy lives. We think a talented Nepo Baby might be spared from a mess, but that's just wrong. It's therapeutic to uncover the truth.

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