Mary Rodgers

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Mary Rodgers (born January 11, 1931) is an American composer of musicals, an author of children's books, and the daughter of Broadway composer Richard Rodgers.

Rodgers' musical works include Once Upon a Mattress (1959), From A to Z (1960), Hot Spot (1963), The Mad Show (1966), Working (1978), and Phyllis Newman's one-woman show The Madwoman of Central Park West (1979).

The composer eventually transitioned into writing children's books (most notably, 1972's Freaky Friday) because, she later explained, "I had a pleasant talent but not an incredible talent....I was not my father or my son. And you have to abandon all kinds of things."^[1] Adam Guettel, Rodgers' son by second husband Henry, is a Tony Award-winning musical theatre composer. She has four other children.

Rodgers' children's books include Summer Switch, A Billion for Boris (later republished under the title ESP TV), and The Rotten Book, and she contributed songs to the landmark children's album Free to Be... You and Me. She also served for several years as chairman of the Juilliard School.