Mary Rodgers (1931-2014) was an accomplished composer, author, and screenwriter. She was the author of the novel Freaky Friday and its 1976 screenplay adaptation, and of several other novels. Rodgers also wrote the music for Once Upon a Mattress, which was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Musical. She lived in New York City until her death.
Jesse Green is the chief theater critic for The New York Times. From 2013 to 2017 he was the theater critic for New York magazine. Before that, he covered theater and other cultural topics, as well as writing long-form news features, for many national publications. He is the author of the novel O Beautiful and the memoir The Velveteen Father: An Unexpected Journey to Parenthood.
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A Best Nonfiction Book of 2022 by The Washington Post
A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of 2022
A Air Mail Best Book of 2022
"I've never read [a book about Broadway] more entertaining (and
more revealing) than Mary Rodgers's Shy. Her voice careens between
intimate, sardonic, confessional, comic. The book is pure pleasure
-- except when it's jaw-droppingly shocking." --Daniel Okrent, The
New York Times Book Review "Mary careens across these pages with
her usual wit, wisdom and honesty. It is Mary as we remember her
and loved her. Jesse Green, her co-author, deserves much praise for
his unique, delightful contribution. One feels that Mary is back
with us once again . . . and how lovely is that!" --Julie Andrews
"Rodgers's delightfully gossipy tell-all is also a frank,
thoughtful chronicle of one woman's journey through experience to
understanding--and a lot of fun to read." --Wendy Smith, The
Washington Post "Born into Broadway royalty, Mary Rodgers wrote
songs, scripts, children's books--but could a memoir, with an
assist from New York Times critic Jesse Green, be her masterpiece?
Cocktail-hour wit bursts from every page as Rodgers (who died in
2014) recalls an upbringing by difficult geniuses and encounters
with pretty much everyone--but especially 'the love of my life, '
Stephen Sondheim. A must-read for anyone who's ever enjoyed a
single musical." --Boris Kachka, Los Angeles Times "[Rodgers's]
remembrances are lively, witty, honest, and "dishy" regarding a
host of boldfaced names, both those she loved and those she hated .
. . A Broadway tell-all that deserves to become a classic of music
theater lore." --Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review) "[A] rollicking
posthumous memoir . . . enriched with droll commentary from Green .
. . It's this playful, self-deprecating humor that makes Rodgers's
stories sing, and fans are sure to delight in every witty detail.
This has major star power." --Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
"[A] candid, hilarious, and fascinating look at a life lived with
honesty and only the occasional regret. Whether Rodgers is
recounting her lifelong love for childhood friend Sondheim or
describing her perpetually fraught dance with her parents, this
will have readers applauding loudly." --Ilene Cooper, Booklist
(Starred Review) "One of the best theatrical memoirs since Moss
Hart's Act One . . . Shy has a conversational style that seems to
bring the reader in the room with Rodgers. One feels that she is
just chatting away, letting whatever comes out of her mouth go down
unedited. [Not true: It was really edited and expertly so.] Rodgers
comes off as a charming, highly intelligent and cultured Lucy Van
Pelt . . . It has to be added that Shy's footnotes--and there are
many--are must reading." --Joe Westerfield, Newsweek "'Outspoken'
is a good word for [Rodgers's] memoir, co-authored by New York
Times theater critic Jesse Green. You just can't imagine anybody
saying the things she says about her father in a polite
conversation, and she is just breathtaking in her takedowns of
absolutely everybody you regard as remotely famous from that era .
. . It's hilarious, for 400 pages." --Bob Mondello, NPR "Both a
joyful chronicle of a life well lived and a box-seat view on some
of the best, brightest, and most idiosyncratic creative minds of
the 20th century." --Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly
"Delectable . . . In part a chronicle of life with father, in part
an insider's view of Broadway during a golden age, Shy is, most
compellingly, an account of a woman finding her power and her
voice." --Joanne Kaufman, Air Mail "Snarky, often ribald, always
revealing . . . [Jesse Green] quotes Mary's reaction to the very
first draft pages of this unique memoir, the only section she lived
to read: "Make it funnier. Make it meaner." She would be well
pleased." --David M. Alpern, East Hampton Star "Shy is a treasure
chest of goodies for fans of the New York performing arts world at
mid-century and just beyond . . . Readers besotted with Old
Broadway would probably inhale Rodgers's memoir no matter its
quality, but Sky has the added bonus of being note-perfect."
--Shelf Awareness "Shy is the most hilarious, wise, candid and
tender memoir I have ever read. And with the best footnotes EVER!"
--André Bishop, Artistic Director of Lincoln Center Theater "Shy is
a fascinating first-person account of a vital period in American
theatre history . . . worth reading as an account of an unusual,
sometimes difficult, but always intriguing life." --Fiona
McQuarrie, PopMatters "Having just finished Shy, an extremely funny
and always fascinating book, I am very sorry I never met Mary
Rodgers. But I do feel as if I have, because Shy provides the
appealing and droll voice of Rodgers, alongside Jesse Green's
always knowledgeable and witty commentary. For anyone who loves
Broadway, or wants to hear about its heyday from a lifelong
insider, this duet of a memoir is a welcome compendium of
information, anecdote, gossip, and strong opinions--and never
anything less than a tremendously good story." --Meg Wolitzer,
author of The Female Persuasion "I read Shy in two long, delicious
gulps. It is an essential show-biz memoir and a complete portrait,
with all the contradictions that make a person real. I'm only sorry
that there's no more to read." --Ben Brantley, author of The New
York Times Book of Broadway: On the Aisle for the Unforgettable
Plays of the Last Century "Reading Shy is like falling into one of
the plush sofas in Mary Rodgers' elegant living room, drink in
hand, while she regales the room in her unique voice. She is in a
talkative--very talkative--mood and ready to say, well, anything on
her bold and fearless mind. All credit to Jesse Green for
organizing Mary's thoughts and opinions into a fascinating book.
Shy gives the reader a full-fledged and revealing portrait of an
extraordinary, complex person." --Ted Chapin, author of Everything
Was Possible: The Birth of the Musical Follies
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