So naturally I couldn't wait for the release of the posthumous revelations from the daughter of legendary Broadway composer Richard Rodgers. Turns out the book was largely assembled by Jesse Green who has more than his say throughout its pages.
For all the ballyhoo, there's not much new here. It's been fairly well known that Richard Rodgers and his wife Dorothy had a mostly unhappy marriage. He was an alcoholic and notorious womanizer and she was an enabler (if not co-dependent) who was manipulative and feigned illness. The daughter had a difficult relationship with her mom but continued to admire her enigmatic daddy. Mary was also in love with Stephen Sondheim but he was also enigmatic, solitary and ultimately, gay.
Nonetheless Mary found a mate, married (more than once) had children and, in this book, all but boasts about an abortion she had along the way, painting herself as a pioneer in that department, I suppose. How sad, dreary and disdainful.
Botton line: being part of a famous, rich and accomplished family (Mary wrote a Broadway hit herself and her mom was a successful designer) does not guarantee love, happiness or even plain old-fashioned common sense, folks. C'est la vie!
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