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The memoirs of Mary Rodgers - writer, composer, Broadway royalty, and "a woman who tried everything.""What am I, bologna?" Mary Rodgers (1931-2014) often said. She was referring to being stuck in the middle: the daughter of one composer and the mother of another. And not just any composers. Her father was Richard Rodgers, perhaps the greatest American melodist; her son Adam Guettel, a worthy successor. What that leaves out is Mary herself, also a composer, whose musical Once Upon a Mattress remains one of the rare revivable Broadway hits written by a woman.Shy is the story of how it all happened: how Mary grew from an angry child, constrained by privilege and a parent's overwhelming talent, to become not just a theater star but also a renowned author of books for young people (including the classic Freaky Friday) and, in a final grand turn, a doyenne of philanthropy and the chairman of the Juilliard School.



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