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The audiobook of Never Mind the Happy: Showbiz Stories from a Sore Winner, a memoir written by Marc Shaiman, is slated for release on the same day as print publication on January 27, 2026. The memoir is now available to pre-order on Amazon and the audiobook is available to pre-save here. Shaiman is a Tony, two-time Grammy, two-time Emmy Award winner and a seven-time Academy Award loser…
In Never Mind the Happy, musical dynamo Shaiman looks back on five decades of Broadway triumphs, Hollywood hijinks, and unforgettable collaborations. Along the way, he charts the personal highs and heartbreaks that have shaped him—spending his teenage years in community theatre, starting a decades-long collaboration with Bette Midler in the ’70s, surviving the AIDS crisis of the ’80s, his award-winning film music career in the Hollywood of the ’90s, right up to the peaks (and valleys) of creating Broadway musicals from 2000 on.
Shaiman said, “Throughout the book, I pull back the curtain on many of the projects and the songs I’ve been a part of—and now, you’ll actually get to hear newly recorded performances of those songs. I am so lucky to have incredibly talented friends in my life, and I somehow coerced Matthew Broderick, Christian Borle, Norbert Leo Butz, Billy Crystal, Christine Ebersole, J. Harrison Ghee, Megan Hilty, Nathan Lane, Jenifer Lewis, Katharine McPhee, Martin Short, Shayna Steele, Marisha Wallace and Ben Whishaw to step back into my studio and in front of the mic.”
Candid, hilarious, and deeply human, Shaiman’s story is a tribute to the power of music, the pull of the spotlight, and the beat that never stops. Part showbiz tell-all, part love letter to the melancholy that fuels creativity, Never Mind the Happy is told with perfect comic timing—along with a few wrong notes, and plenty of standing ovations.
With all 88 keys under his arm, Marc will be hitting the road! Marc will regale audiences with behind-the-scenes tales from his storied career and a special performance for each city.
The first set of book tour dates are:
Sunday, January 25
In conversation with Nathan Lane
Hosted by 92NY – New York, NY
Featuring special performances by J. Harrison Ghee & Jessica Vosk
Thursday, January 29
In conversation with Alan Zweibel
Hosted by Free Library of Philadelphia – Philadelphia, PA
Wednesday, February 4
Hosted by the Clinton Foundation in partnership with the Arkansas Cinema Society, Arkansas Repertory Theater and Arkansas Symphony Orchestra – Little Rock, AR
Friday, February 6
In conversation with Bette Midler
Hosted by The Academy Museum – Los Angeles, CA
Featuring a screening of The First Wives Club
Monday, February 9
In conversation and performance with Melissa Errico
Hosted by Long Island Lit Fest – Northport, NY
Saturday, February 14
In conversation with Murray Horwitz
Hosted by Politics & Prose – Washington, DC
Additional tour dates will be announced shortly.
