The Vegas Voice 6-20

I
’ve written many times about my father but
this time, I see him and hope he knows how
honored I am to have had him in my life. Yes,
something changed me. And I am not ashamed to express my own
satisfaction of keeping a promise to him that he never knew I made.
Daddy (I still think of him that way) was a gentleman, scholar,
author, and had a dedication to his work that remained unfinished
when he died in 1985.
After I lost my Mom in 1993, I found a typed version of his work
in their apartment. My mother typed it from his notes on a small
portable Emerson typewriter with a worn ribbon on onionskin paper.
The chapters were paper clipped and there were assorted handwritten
papers under it.
My father wrote in teeny letters and one 5x7 piece of paper could
hold what would be 2 to 3 typed pages. It was always a challenge to
read them.
Both my parents centered their lives on music. My mother was a
pianist who taught at Julliard. My father, a Professor of Sociology, was
also the son of an opera singer and an opera director brought to New
York by Oscar Hammerstein in the early 1900s.
So, it was no surprise that with my father’s great knowledge of music
and family connection, he did extensive research (over a span of 40
years) on the history of musical theater and this very colorful character,
Oscar Hammerstein.
His book brings to life the amazing creativity, masterful stage
engineering, humor, unlikely associations and the turbulence of the
period combining forces to create entertainment and celebrations of
talent. All this was led by Hammerstein and his brilliant imagination.
Everything was an event and the world applauded his triumphs and
witnessed his antics.
Sadly, my dad was never able to bring the book to completion. When
I found the manuscript, I also discovered that my mother had donated
all his research material.
6
A Promise to My Father
By: Adrea Nairne-Barrera / 60s to 60
June 2020
All I had was 500 pages but as I read it, I realized how important
this was.
The imagery in the words and the stories of how musical theater first
came to be gave me amazing insight into my father. I got to know him
in a whole new way and to appreciate the man he was. To me the book
is a masterpiece.
In 1995 I copyrighted it and began to explore possible ways to make
sure it had a place in the world. I worked with agents and entertainment
reps, gave up for a few years and then decided to gather the research
material and copy it. That never happened.
But I made a promise to my father that no matter how long it took,
I would bring this over the finish line. Ultimately, I plunged into a
fund-raising website to draw attention and perhaps even self-publish
or hire someone to collaborate with me and track down the original
research notes.
In 2014, within 2 weeks of posting it was noticed by a senior editor
at McFarland & Company, Inc. She recognized the importance of the
subject and asked if we could discuss it further.
After I picked myself up from the floor, I sent my favorite chapter and
in return was offered a contract.
There were so many things to do and the editor assigned to me was
patient, smart and loved the subject. It took 6 years to get every little
detail right and in 2020 it was published!
This Father’s Day I finally came up with the right gift. I love you
Daddy.
Adrea Nairne-Barrera writes of celebrations, observations &
complaints of life in the 60s to being in your 60s.