Bootleg Betty
Marc Shaiman Kicks Off Book Tour At 92NY With Nathan Lane January 25, 2026
Nov. 9, 2025
Award-winning composer and co-lyricist Marc Shaiman (Hairspray, Sister Act, Smash and many others) joins fellow Tony Award winner Nathan Lane for a look behind the curtain of life on Broadway, in Hollywood and on Television, with a conversation about Shaiman’s new memoir, Never Mind the Happy: Showbiz Stories from a Sore Winner.
Emerging from community theater in his teens, sparking a decades-long collaboration with Bette Midler in the ’70s, surviving the AIDS crisis of the ’80s and bursting into Hollywood and Broadway glory, Marc Shaiman has spent 50 years making some of the most beloved musicals and film scores of our era. Hilarious and deeply human, Shaiman’s story is a tribute to the power of music and the pull of the spotlight.
Join him with his longtime pal Nathan Lane — a decades-long musical friendship — for a candid, uproariously fun evening of backstage stories from a shared life in show business, on and offstage.
All tickets include a copy of the book. A book signing follows the event.
Marc Shaiman says: “I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be at @92NY on Sunday, January 25th with my dear friend Nathan Lane to celebrate the launch of NEVER MIND THE HAPPY: SHOWBIZ STORIES FROM A SORE WINNER!
Nathan and I have accumulated decades of adventures together…like when he sang the demo for “Timeless to Me” and performed the roles of both Wilbur and Edna…or the night he and Matthew started rehearsing for their return to The Producers in our backyard and a grouchy neighbor started “sshing” them through a bush…we’ve got a million stories and now they’re giving us microphones and an audience! Come prepared to laugh—tickets are available now.”
Bette Midler with Nathan Lane, Lily Tomlin, and Marc Shaiman
