Why Mary Rodgers Pushed to Make Her Memoir Meaner, Funnier and More Revealing About Her Life Among Broadway Greats
Gordon Cox Theater Editor The composer (“Once Upon a Mattress”), young adult author (“Freaky Friday”) and philanthropist Mary Rodgers wanted to write a memoir that was candid, cutting, dishy and vanity-free — the exact opposite of the books penned by her father, the legendary Broadway composer Richard Rodgers, and her mother Dorothy Rodgers. “Mary didn’t want it to be fake like her parents’ memoirs had been,” said Jesse Green, the co-author of Mary Rodgers’ recently released memoir “Shy.” Speaking on the new episode of Stagecraft, Variety‘s theater podcast, Green explained, “She wanted it to spark with the actual sound of people enjoying thinking about their lives.”