![]() ![]() When Green showed her the opening pages he had drafted, he recalls, she had two comments: “Make it funnier” and “Make it meaner.” That less-than-maternal response is characteristic of the smart, tart voice that animates Rodgers’ autobiography, crafted from three years of free-ranging conversations with New York Times theater critic Jesse Green. ![]() The “beyond” included her son Adam Guettel, yet another composer in the family, who won a Tony Award in 2005 for the score of “Light in the Piazza.” That show was also nominated for best musical, and before they announced the winner, Adam leaned over to say, “I love you, Mom.” To which Rodgers replied, “It’s gonna be Spamalot.” By virtue of being Richard Rodgers’ daughter and Stephen Sondheim’s close friend, she was a privileged, as well as astute, observer of pivotal moments in the American musical theater from “Oklahoma” to “Company” and beyond. Mary Rodgers (1931-2014) had a modestly successful career in musical theater (“Once Upon a Mattress” was her one big hit as a composer) and became a best-selling author in 1972 with “Freaky Friday,” a young adult novel about a mother and daughter magically swapping bodies that spawned two movie adaptations and two sequels. ![]() Photo: Dave Kotinsky, Contributor / Getty Images Mary Rodgers Guettel in 2012 in New York City. ![]()
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