BOOKSTORE
What We Did for Love is the memoir of a performer during 1975-76, in the most innovative Broadway musical of all time, A Chorus Line. The story relates the exploits of Mary Ann O’Reilly-Beu a young woman in her mid-twenties, a wife and mother of two babies, like so many women today trying to “have it all.”
The story is told in narrative form with a great deal of crisp humorous dialogue, which makes for a fast and easy read. The author has not only a photographic mind-lens for evoking in intimate detail, countless scenes that make this yarn a kaleidoscopic series of movie-like sequences for the reader… she also has autographic recall with a talent for recounting conversations complete with regional accents, theater jargon and quick repartee so common in the musical theater community.
The book abounds with colorful characters and comical situations and places the reader into experiencing auditions, rehearsals, opening nights and numerous celebrity filled parties with vividness and clarity.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mary Ann O’Reilly is a native New Yorker, Brooklyn to be exact. An alumnus of the prestigious High School of the Performing Arts, she made her Broadway debut at 18 years old in THE HAPPY TIME, starring Robert Goulet. She appeared on Broadway again as the first New York replacement in the renowned hit musical A CHORUS LINE. Mary Ann has also starred in the title role of SUGAR (the musical version of SOME LIKE IT HOT) playing opposite stars such as Robert Morse, Donald O’Connor, Ken Berry, Larry Kert, Don Ameche, Jack Carter and Joe Namath. She has performed in numerous corporate shows and industrial films as a spokeswomen or female lead and acted in over 30 television commercials and voice overs.
For a decade, she had varied experiences in many areas of showbusiness having been the V.P. of A.G. Bew Productions. Her responsibilities included; Asst. Stage Manager for the Anheuser-Busch multi-media production, Bandwagon, in Miami, Florida; Asst. Choreographer on BYE BYE BIRDIE, starring Chita Rivera and Russ Tamblyn, Asst. Director on Johnson& Johnson’s Clean & Clear show in Miami, Florida and casting director on corporate shows.
A prolific songwriter, Mary Ann earned acclaims for her original material including an award from the American Songwriters Festival. She has also written musical comedy material for her one woman show ONE TOO MANY MEEES and has provided original material for other club acts such as ERROL MANOFF’S FANTASY FACTORY with music, lyrics, concepts and sketches. These productions were performed in major showrooms in Las Vegas and South Africa. Mary Ann’s other writing credits include CBS Network’s LEGWORK, “Things That Go Bump in the Night,” with a rewrite of the Lamaze Class scene, where Mary Ann was cast as the instructor. She has performed and written parodies and concepts for corporate theater.
Mary Ann was a counselor to teenagers with behavioral problems and survivors of attempted suicides. As a drama teacher in New York she utilized her accessibility to reach out to troubled young people through her specially designed classes. This led to her opening her own theatrical management company REAL KIDS, helping her young clients access roles in major films and TV. She has given motivational lectures on attaining personal goals and choosing a career in the performing arts to high school students through the New York Board of Education, the Florida School System and Disney World’s Summer Internship.
The remarkable part of Mary Ann’s career is the fact that while remaining active in showbusiness she has managed to successfully raise her 8 children. Her proudest theatrical achievement is the development and management of her four-daughter’s singing group, International, Double Platinum Recording Artists THE BEU SISTERS.
WHAT WE DID FOR LOVE; A dancer’s memoir of A CHORUS LINE, is Mary Ann’s debut as an author.
