Seussical
Long Island LitFest & The John W. Engeman Theater Presents
Tony Award Winning Composer
Marc Shaiman
Hairspray, Sister Act, Catch Me If You Can, Mary Poppins Returns, Smash, Some Like It Hot
In Conversation with Broadway and Cabaret Star Melissa Errico
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Monday, February 9, 2026 at 7 PM
Lobby bar opens 1 hour prior to event start
Event Details
Join award-winning composer-lyricist Marc Shaiman for an evening chatting about his new memoir, Never Mind the Happy, with Broadway and cabaret star Melissa Errico. Perhaps they will surprise us with a song or two!
YOUR TICKET INCLUDES A SIGNED COPY OF THE BOOK, AUTHOR TALK & AUDIENCE Q&A
Marc Shaiman is a renowned American composer, lyricist, arranger, and music producer known for his work across film, television, and theater
Shaiman began his career as a musical director and arranger for Bette Midler before expanding into film scoring. He gained prominence with his work on films such as When Harry Met Sally, The Addams Family, Sister Act, City Slickers, A Few Good Men, Sleepless in Seattle, The American President, and South Park, on television with SNL, and on his recordings with Harry Connick Jr. and Mariah Carey. Shaiman earned widespread acclaim for co-writing the Broadway musical Hairspray alongside his longtime co-lyricist Scott Wittman. The duo has also co-created the musicals Catch Me If You Can, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Some Like It Hot, and Smash. He has been nominated for multiple Academy Awards and has won a Tony, two Emmys, and two Grammys. Marc Shaiman is celebrated for his versatile, emotionally resonant music and his ability to blend classic musical theater sensibilities with modern storytelling.
About The Memoir
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, “Never mind the happy,” my mother always says, but how could I not be happy about nearly 50 years in show business, where I have been blessed with startling successes (and yes, a few dire disappointments). So I figured it was time to write my memoir before I completely forget what I’ve done – or worse, before everyone else forgets! Whether movies, television, or on Broadway, I guess my longevity actually proves that…You can’t stop the beat!”
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.
Melissa Errico is a Broadway actress, recording artist and writer
Melissa is one of the city’s most celebrated concert and cabaret artists who recently appeared at the Montreal Jazz Festival and the Grand Rex in Paris. She starred as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady on Broadway and earned a Tony Award nod for Michel Legrand’s musical Amour. Other Broadway: High Society, Dracula, White Christmas, Anna Karenina, Les Miserables. She collaborated with Stephen Sondheim on Sunday in the Park with George, Passion, and Do I Hear A Waltz? Her acclaimed albums include Legrand Affair, Sondheim Sublime, Sondheim in The City, and I Can Dream, Can’t I?— her newest. A frequent New York Times essayist, she recently debuted at London’s Cadogan Hall singing Sondheim. She premiered her concert “The Streisand Effect” in Los Angeles & New York City.