www.mathlife.wqed.org/mag/archives/../features/0503_chi -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 1/27/2003
Last Visited: 11/6/2003
Rob Marshall, Chicago by way of Pittsburgh
...
Rob Marshall, Chicago by way of PittsburghAfter a day of phone interviews, Chicago's director-choreographer makes time for an old neighbor.
By Theresa Randall
"Robby loves Pittsburgh.This is his home," says Bill Thunhurst.The former executive producer and managing director of the Pittsburgh CLO is talking about the kid who auditioned for him in the '70s.But to many thousands of theater-goers and now millions of movie fans, Rob Marshall is one of the biggest names responsible for the newly rejuvenated American musical.
Following a string of Tony Award nominations for such Broadway hits as Victor/Victoria and the revivals of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Cabaret, the director-choreographer stunned Hollywood with his first feature film, Chicago.But despite another string of award nominations and wins, including an Oscar nod for best director, Marshall is still the stage-struck kid from Squirrel Hill.
"I can't even call him Bill.He's Mr. Thunhurst," says Marshall from his publicist's office in New York City.Now a Hollywood presence who can casually refer to "Barbra" and "Sean," Marshall acknowledges his mentor, Mr. Thunhurst, as "the first and best producer I have ever worked with" and the people and places of Pittsburgh for keeping him firmly grounded.
"What am I doing here?"he remembers asking himself while attending the Golden Globe Awards show in January.Everywhere Marshall turned there were movie stars like Goldie Hawn and Michael Caine."That was a surreal night," says Marshall.Chicago won three Golden Globe awards for best picture (musical or comedy), best actor (Richard Gere as the razzle-dazzle attorney, Billy Flynn) and best actress (Renee Zellweger as the stage-hungry murderess, Roxie Hart).Marshall was nominated for best director."Robby has a solid background in the whole business of theater, but he is a performer first," says Thunhurst, who is retired but still donates time to Oakmont's Riverview High School's musical productions."He knows the bag of tricks to succeed as a director."
The next question was how Chicago would fare in nominations for the Academy Awards, but Marshall says he tried not to think about it.
...
"Being welcomed into the film community is a whole different world," Marshall says, "because this world seemed so unreachable."
Marshall's love affair with musical theater began at age 9 when he saw Lenora Nemetz in a local production of Guys and Dolls."I couldn't believe how talented she was," Marshall exclaims."I wanted to perform just like her."Nemetz recalled the first time she saw Marshall: "He showed up at the stage door at the Odd Chair Playhouse [in Bethel Park] with a dozen roses.He was wearing a suit, and he couldn't have been more than 11 or 12," Nemetz continues."Robby said, ‘Hello, Lenora Nemetz.My name is Rob Marshall, and these flowers are for you.I am the president of the Lenora Nemetz Fan Club of Western Pennsylvania."In fact, Marshall, his twin sister, Maura, and younger sister, Kathleen, formed the fan club and kept a scrapbook dedicated to the legendary Pittsburgh singer-dancer-actress. (Nemetz, still based here, is currently touring with Some Like It Hot with Tony Curtis.)
Three years later, the Marshall siblings auditioned for Thunhurst at the CLO."I remember when they first came in with their mother, Anne.It was 1973, and they auditioned for The Sound of Music," recalls Thunhurst."My sisters and I auditioned without resumes or head shots," recalls Marshall.
...
At the tender age of 14, Rob Marshall returned to the late, lamented Odd Chair Playhouse as an apprentice.He continued working there and at the CLO until he graduated from Allderdice High School, after which he went on to attend Carnegie Mellon University.However, before earning his bachelor's in fine arts there in 1982, Marshall took his junior year off to perform with the national tour of A Chorus Line.
"The most fun I've had on stage was when I came back for my senior year at CMU," recalls Marshall."Mel Shapiro, former CMU drama head, produced a comedic play called Rachinoff.It was about an 18th-century inventor of rock 'n' roll.Shapiro turned it into a musical, and I danced in period clothing."
"Robby was dedicated to learning and mastering all of his art form, whether it be acting, singing or dancing," says Judy Conte, senior lecturer in dance at CMU."As a performer, he was engaging on stage, and he was able to transmit his energy to others."
He took those abilities to Broadway, where he would eventually pick up six Tony Award nominations and a host of other awards.And he brought that award-winning talent back home, directing Oliver, Camelot and Brigadoon at the CLO in the early '90s."My family and I have so many dear friends in Pittsburgh," he says.His parents, Bob (former dean and professor of English at Pitt) and Anne Marshall (former professor at Pitt's School of Education), are retired and now live on Long Island, closer to Rob and Kathleen."Luckily I've been able to come back to town occasionally."Marshall acknowledges his sisters as well."Maura lives in Virginia and has a very successful interior-design and architecture firm she shares with her husband, [Dennis].Kathy is a [New York City-based] choreographer and director."Rob and Kathleen co-choreographed Damn Yankees on Broadway in 1994.
...
Marshall describes himself as a "cockeyed optimist" who never believed the movie musical was a forgotten genre.In early 2000, Marshall met with Harvey Weinstein, CEO of Miramax, to discuss taking the Broadway musical Rent to the big screen.
...
Chicago was originally a hit on Broadway in 1975, and Marshall had directed the stage version of Chicago before, including a 1992 award-winning production in Los Angeles.Actually, he had achieved many of his professional milestones on John Kander-Fred Ebb shows: Zorba (his Broadway debut as a dancer in 1983), The Rink (his first as dance captain), Kiss of the Spider Woman (his Broadway choreographic debut) and, of course, his and their biggest hit till now, the revival of Cabaret.Marshall was ready for the big screen, having scored another hit as director of Annie, the top-rated made-for-TV movie for 1999.
"Fortunately, we began production on Chicago before the musical Moulin Rouge premiered in theaters," recalls Marshall."Moulin Rouge was a sort of pop-confection, and Chicago is a legendary musical, so it took some pressure off of our shoulders."
A little more intense for Marshall and his Chicago cast was their tight preparation period: only six weeks of rehearsal."Everybody had a mountain to climb," says Marshall."Mine was directing my first feature film."In the end, he says, he was just hoping it would turn out OK.
It did.In fact, after the media frenzy surrounding the release of Chicago, his cell phone calls started to get interesting."Barbra Streisand called to congratulate me on a wonderful movie.Wow!Barbra called me," exclaims Marshall."That message will never be erased."(The two had earlier discussed, but amicably dropped, plans for a movie musical of Mame.) No sooner did Streisand call than Marshall received a message from Sean Connery: "You did a masterful job."
Marshall was bowled over, even though he's worked with such major stars as Julie Andrews and Liza Minnelli (successively in Victor/Victoria).But even before Chicago was a hit, he acknowledged Thunhurst's contribution, when the latter was honored last fall with an award for lifetime achievement in Pittsburgh theater by the New Works Festival."It's fair to say that you are the godfather of my career," Marshall wrote in a letter read at the award presentation."As I sit here only weeks away from opening my first feature film as a director, I hope you know that you are responsible in a major way for that achievement.At the age of 12, you gave me my illustrious start in the business we call ‘show.'"
In talking about his many ties to Pittsburgh-"Gene Kelly is a hero," Marshall says-I remind Marshall of my own family ties with his (we lived one block up from the Marshalls' house).My twin brother, Billy, and our older sister, Barbie, would dog-sit the Marshalls' golden retriever, Miranda.During one of our visits, Marshall, then about 24, and Billy, about 10, were in the den, and Marshall taught my brother how to tap dance."Oh, my yes," Marshall laughs."Well tell Billy that I've only taught two people how to tap dance: your brother and Richard Gere, so Billy's in good company."
Marshall is also in good company.How has he stayed grounded throughout all of the recent media attention?"My family certainly won't let me forget I'm just Robby Marshall," he says.
21 online sources [ view sources ]
Profile is not claimed [ claim profile ]
