Below is the second excerpt from the upcoming audiobook of my autobiography, The Wrong Side of the Room: A Life in Music Theater. Publication of the full audiobook is expected some time in late May or early June of 2023.
Camp Rotary Entrance
When I was eight years old, my mother sent me to summer camp. I so looked forward to this, but the camp turned out to be something very different from what I had imagined—the summer camp from hell.
The dreaded oval pool.
The first excerpt is entitled My First Dance Class at Age 4: A Disaster. This was because I hated the childishness of the class so much that I refused to return and thwarted my budding dance career.
Me at age four.
Click on the audio file below to hear it.
The printed and Kindle versions of the book are currently available at Amazon (Click Here).
To learn more about the book (Click Here).
My autobiography, The Wrong Side of the Room: A Life in Music Theater, was selected on November 14, as Book of the Day by BookBaby Bookshop.
Their review reads as follows:
“Norman Mathews’ autobiography, The Wrong Side of the Room: A Life in Musical Theater, is a multidimensional masterpiece that reminds readers there is hope, no matter what. In the book, Mathews shares his fascinating life story. It’s a tale of a small-town boy who grew up to be a dancer on Broadway and movies, and after a severe back injury, he reinvented himself to become a composer and playwright. It’s rich with compelling and at times heart wrenching details about coming of age, coming out, and becoming a respected artist.
As I read through the book, I was simply blown away by Norman Mathews’ writing. His storytelling is conversational yet elegant. Mathews is honest, thoughtful, and flat out inspiring. He was never dealt an easy hand. In his harrowing journey to a life of love, music, and theatre, Mathews suffered psychological abuse by a priest through horrific psychotherapy. It led to a failed suicide attempt when he was twenty. But, when he was at his lowest and surrounded by darkness, he had the tenacity to rise up and create a deeply meaningful life. You’ll follow along as Mathews builds a career as a magazine editor and eventually as a Broadway and movie dancer who worked with greats like Barbra Streisand, Gene Kelly, Dorothy Lamour, and Michael Bennett.
The Wrong Side of the Room offers a one-of-a-kind look into the unique struggles that exist in the performing and creative arts. It also is an empowering reminder that you can build a fulfilling life as an LGBTQ person, regardless of traumatic setbacks and cultural intolerance. I was deeply moved by Mathews’ ability to survive seemingly insurmountable odds and build the life of his dreams. It’s a triumphant story about the human spirit and its ability to overcome. Beyond that, he found a way to both thrive and find a fulfilling love.
The book itself is steeped in dark humor, hilarious celebrity gossip, and backstage intrigue. It reminds us that you don’t need to be a household name celebrity to have a powerful story to tell. In fact, Norman Mathews’ story is on par with some of the most iconic and renown memoirs to date. Just as the author wears many hats, I believe this book has relevant appeal for all readers. However, it will be particularly compelling for those involved with dance and musical theater, along with the LGBTQ community and Sicilian Americans.
The Wrong Side of the Room is a perfectly executed, thoughtful, and phenomenal read that takes you on an astounding journey like no other. I hope you take the time to read it this holiday season. You’ll be blown away by Norman Mathews and his unforgettable story.”
To order either a paperback or an ebook, click below:
My article, Are Democrats Really Clueless About Impending Election Doom? was published in Common Dreams on June 29, 2022, and picked up and reprinted by LA Progressive on June 30, 2022.
It discusses how Democrats would rather not win than support progressive ideals or lose their corporate sponsorship.
A new posting of the composers work sung and played by the composer. The first 9 tracks are from the one-person musical about Dorothy Parker, You Might as Well Live. Several of the songs are recorded here for the first time.
The 10th track is from the musical revue, Somebody Write Me a Song, written with lyricist Patty Seyburn. Other tracks will be added in the future.
The Wrong Side of the Room: A Life in Music Theater, my autobiography, has just been featured in Publishers Weekly Indie Spotlight. The month’s spotlight focuses on noteworthy memoirs and autobiographies by independent authors.
Many of my scores can be obtained free of charge. Musicians can feel free to contact me about works that interest them. In many cases, I will be able to send you a free PDF copy of the work. For singers, transpositions are available upon request.
Simply email your requests at: info@normanmathewsauthor.com
My publication of 16 Jazz Ballads is available at SheetMusicPlus. You get 83 pages of music for the low price of only $8.00.
This collection of ballads (six instrumental and ten vocal) was composed over a period of thirty years. I place these works together because the ballad is my favorite genre of song. All the songs are presented in lead-sheet format. The vocal pieces, however, are in addition given in their original arrangements.
Some of these songs in the arranged form are not truly jazz inflected. I believe, though, that an inventive pianist may give them a jazz feel using the lead-sheets as blueprints. With some of the vocal works, I have transposed them up in order to make them more comfortable on the keyboard. The arrangements remain in their original keys. The vocal pieces are from either my Dorothy Parker musical, You Might as Well Live (which has been performed by Tony-Award-Winner Michele Pawk and Broadway star Karen Mason) or from a cabaret revue, entitled Somebody Write Me a Song (which has been performed by Tony-Award-Winner Debbie Gravitte and Tony-Nominee Liz Callaway).
The vocal pieces are suitable for cabaret performances or audition purposes. The instrumental pieces are designed for jazz performers. The first piece, Anders’ Theme, was originally written for sax.
Music lovers adore a challenge. Though I in no way compare myself to the brilliant Stephen Sondheim, a statement by him in his book Finishing the Hat caused great consternation for me. He maintains that wonderful light verse, such as written by Dorothy Parker, is completely unsuitable as song lyrics.
My problem was that I had already written my one-person musical play, You Might as Well Live, which uses Mrs. Parker’s poems as lyrics for a jazzy score.
Now I believe I overcame the traps Sondheim mentions: that the poetry is complete in itself and music adds nothing to it; and that music “thuddingly underlines the dum-de-dum rhythms.”
Read the article on my other website, then listen to the songs (which appear first on the AUDIO page on this site), and judge for yourself. I’d be delighted to hear your opinion on this topic.
For those who love the classic-style Broadway ballad, an article on my other website, normanmathewsauthor.com, may be just the thing. Entitled The Lost Ballads of Broadway, I list several ballads that never became known because the shows that contained them closed quickly, or the number was cut before the show opened. I try to give the history of the song and when available I link it to a recording of the piece.
In the list are songs by Leonard Bernstein, Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt, Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz, amongst many others.
On my other website normanmathewsauthor.com there are a number of posts relating to music, which will be of interest to visitors to this website. I will delineate those here over a period of time.
The first one is entitled: Sondheim’s Lyrics for Other Composers.
In a personal letter addressed to me, Stephen Sondheim explains exactly how he worked as a lyricist for other composers, including Leonard Bernstein, Jule Styne, and Richard Rodgers. I post the letter in this article.
Welcome to the entirely new website NormanMathews.com
Besides a clean new design, you will now find recordings of all my major compositions on the Audio Page. All recording a free for downloading.
The latest news items will be posted on this News Page.
You can order scores or ask me questions on the Contact Page. I welcome any suggestions you may have about this website. I try to answer all inquiries within a couple days.
Check out my other website relating to my publishing endeavors. There you can find frequent posts on my latest recipes, all of which are easily printable. Also, on the General Posts page you will find excerpts from my autobiography and articles relating to theatre, music, and politics. Here’s the link to that site:
Many musicians and music lovers also love to cook—or at least love good food. If you fit this description, there’s a perfect site for you. It gives detailed printable recipes for dishes that were a hallmark of my Sicilian family’s cooking. My grandmother and grandfather once ran a restaurant and did the cooking for virtually every Italian wedding in my hometown.
But in addition to family recipes, I’ve recreated some of the great meals I’ve had in restaurants around the world. All this is contained in my other website, https://normanmathews author. com
And there are constant updates of dishes that I’ve created myself.
My interview on Richard Skipper Celebrates is now available on YouTube. The one-hour interview focused on both my life in the music theatre and on my autobiography, The Wrong Side of the Room.
My autobiography, The Wrong Side of the Room: A Life in Music Theater, won the Bronze Medal in the Non-Fiction—Music/Entertainment category of the Readers’ Favorite Book Competition.
The book received unanimous critical acclaim, including a 5-star review from Reader’s Favorite. It was also featured in the acclaimed Kirkus Review’s “Best Books of the Year.”
To order a copy: Click Here.