Book Review: ‘Never Mind the Happy’ by Marc Shaiman
You may not know his name, but I guarantee you know his work. I’m talking about Marc Shaiman. In over fifty years in show business, Shaiman has created music for movies, Broadway, and singers. He counts some of Hollywood’s biggest and brightest among his close friends. And he’s not even quite sure how he managed any of it. But he does remember how it all happened, and he’s written it all down for us to enjoy the crazy, unbelievable story that is Marc Shaiman’s life. Just remember when you congratulate him, to Never Mind the Happy.
[Warning: My review of Never Mind the Happy contains some spoilers!]
Marc Shaiman has led a charmed life, not that he’d agree
Shaiman loved music from a young age. It was something that just came naturally to him. If he heard a piece, he could play it. This ability, combined with some chutzpah, leads a young boy from Jersey to quickly move from community theater to off-Broadway to working for Bette Midler. Reading through Shaiman’s stories, it seems like he lucked into pretty much every job that he ever got. Now I don’t mean this in a mean way, the man has talent to spare. He has performed amazingly on almost every project he’s ever worked on (he would agree with the “almost”). But early on, he often got jobs because he was in the right place at the right time. The right people just happen to hear him and be impressed. They’d offer him a job, and he’d accept, even if he had no idea what he was doing! Then he’d work his butt off, and it’d all work out (usually).
Shaiman calls himself a pessimist over and over in his book. That’s what Never Mind the Happy refers to: don’t bother wishing him happiness because he can’t appreciate it anyway. But I’m not sure that’s true. What comes across in his storytelling is an eternal optimism. No matter what is going on, Shaiman believes that he is capable of doing whatever he sets his mind to, and then he just does it. I don’t know if anyone is a better example of manifestation than Marc Shaiman.
A name you don’t know, a body of work that’s shaped your life
To be perfectly honest, I had never heard the name “Marc Shaiman” before I was handed Never Mind the Happy. So when I started reading, I couldn’t believe the projects he had worked on. Shaiman had created the music for dozens of projects, everything from When Harry Met Sally to The Addams Family to Hairspray. He’s worked on Broadway, arranging music and writing original productions. He’s worked with all kinds of musical artists. His stories read as a “who’s who” of Hollywood. It could come across as shameful name-dropping, but the stories are so genuine that it doesn’t feel that way. It’s more like a grandpa sharing stories and shocking his grandkids with whom he casually references.
Shaiman has enjoyed a show business career that spans over 50 years. He was lucky enough to get an early start. In addition to starting young, he started strong. It took him just a few years to jump from New Jersey to Hollywood. By the time he was 17, he was working for (and living with!) his childhood hero, Bette Midler. Not many people can claim to have fulfilled a life dream by that age! If he had stopped, then he would have already accomplished more than most people do in their whole lives. But of course, that wasn’t enough for Shaiman. He continued to combine luck and hard work in a mind-blowing way to achieve more dreams than any one person could hope for.
A fun and slightly disjointed style
Shaiman uses a very straightforward timeline approach for Never Mind the Happy. Each chapter is headed by a witty title, with the years it concerns listed underneath. These chapters are in roughly chronological order. But there is some backtracking and some overlap in those times. And within the stories, he has a tendency to jump ahead of himself to tell about things that happen years later. Sometimes this leaves you a little confused about just what’s happening. Sometimes the confusion comes later as you try to figure out if something he mentioned earlier has happened yet. But it’s not a huge amount of confusion. It keeps with the fun, conversational style that defines Shaiman’s writing. It feels like you’re talking with a friend and they’re telling you a story, jumping around as different things occur to them and tangents sidetrack them. It keeps the reading interesting, and I didn’t really mind it.
Never Mind the Happy has a target audience
I had never heard of Marc Shaiman until a few weeks ago. As you can guess from that, I’m not really a Broadway musicals kinda person. I enjoyed reading about Shaiman’s life, but I didn’t connect with it well. I don’t think this was a defect in the writing or the presentation. Objectively, both were great. I think it’s just that I wasn’t the target audience of this book. Anyone who’s into Broadway, musicals, or the musical side of movie-making will love Never Mind the Happy. If you know Shaiman’s name, you’re gonna love this book. If his name doesn’t ring a bell, though, you’ll probably not really be captivated by Shaiman’s stories. But there is a chance even then that his chutzpah will win you over anyway, it’s worked for him so far!
Never Mind the Happy by Marc Shaiman is available now for purchase! Have you read this memoir yet? Share your thoughts on social media and tag @bsb.insider to continue the conversation!
Book Review: Every Version of You by Natalie Messier
