A Broadway Critic on a Broadway Legend

When Mary Rodgers began her memoir about her life as the daughter of composer Richard Rodgers and, later, as the mother of composer Adam Guettel, she set out to be honest, unabashedly so. In her posthumously published book, Shy, which was co-authored by Jesse Green, chief theatre critic of The New York Times, the reader comes to know her as a musical genius herself and the sometimes wounded daughter of a famous father and difficult mother.

Her work lives on as the composer of Broadway sensation Once Upon A Mattress. She collaborated with everyone from Judy Holliday to Carol Burnett and Leonard Bernstein, along with romantic interludes with Stephen Sondheim and Hal Prince. Jesse Green appears on our stage to reveal how he finished the book, why Rodgers’s life resonates with us still, and what her life can teach us.

Books will be available for purchase.

• This event occurs in person at the National Arts Club.
• RSVP does not guarantee entry.
• Doors open to the public 15 minutes before the event start time.
• Our coat check is limited. Please do not bring any large bags or backpacks.