Shy

The Alarmingly Outspoken Memoirs of Mary Rodgers

By: Mary Rodgers, Jesse Green

Narrated by: Christine Baranski, Jesse Green

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 of a talent sandwich: 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 gift, to become not just a theater figure in her own right but also a renowned author of books for young readers (including the classic Freaky Friday) and, in a final grand turn, a doyenne of philanthropy and the chairman of the Juilliard School.

But in telling these stories―with copious annotations, contradictions, and interruptions from Jesse Green, the chief theater critic of The New York Times―Shy also tells another, about a woman liberating herself from disapproving parents and pervasive sexism to find art and romance on her own terms. Whether writing for Judy Holliday or Rin Tin Tin, dating Hal Prince or falling for Stephen Sondheim over a game of chess at thirteen, Rodgers grabbed every chance possible―and then some.

Both an eyewitness report from the golden age of American musical theater and a tale of a woman striving for a meaningful life, Shy is, above all, a chance to sit at the feet of the kind of woman they don’t make anymore―and never did. They make themselves.

©2023 Mary Rodgers,Jesse Green (P)2023 Spiegel & Grau by Spotify Audiobooks

Mary Found Her Voice: Baranski is Her!

Terrific story with lots of tasty tidbits. Jesse Greene fleshes out the story and the characters we meet along the way. He interrupts her fantasies with some truth when necessary. Christine Baranski inhabits Mary and should win an award for best narration in an audio book. A SUPERB listen which has to be better than reading this remarkable book.

Worth the wait!

From the second the book came out I’ve been checking and checking and checking and checking for the audio version. I finally gave up. And then, all of a sudden, here it is. Worth the wait and the time. What a fantastic broad was Mary Rodgers Guettel. Drink it in.

A Fun, Behind-the-Scenes Treat for Broadway Fans

If you can sing along with original cast albums from the Golden Age of Broadway, then this book is for you. Christine Baranski makes Mary Rodgers' wit, wisdom, and wisecracks come alive, and she perfects a snarky tone that is more delectable than depressing.

Great Listen-To!

Christine Baranski does a great job of making Mary Rodgers come to life. Jesse Green did a wonderful job of interjecting explanations as needed, and at the end, I could have cried, as I felt I lost someone I had known. Very well done!

Christine Baranski is Amazing as Mary Rodgers

I found this excellent audiobook easier to follow than the original book. Jesse Green’s footnotes fit in easier in the audio format (especially since in the actual book they weren’t always on the same page as the passage being footnoted). Also, Baranski’s pitch perfect performance allows one to go with the flow of rather than trying to decipher the timeline of every digression—which tripped me up with the hardback.