Wednesday, November 26, 2003

By Christopher Rawson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

NEW YORK -- I'll tell you how I met Kathleen Marshall," said Amy Freitag at Sunday's party to celebrate the opening of "Wonderful Town" on Broadway. "On my very first day at Smith [College], I walked into the second-floor bathroom and found Kathleen teaching my friend to tap dance."

	At the opening night party for "Wonderful Town" in New York City are, from left, producer Roger Berlind, stars Donna Murphy and Jennifer Westfeldt, and director-choreographer Kathleen Marshall.

That was 23 years ago. Sunday, with the opening of "Wonderful Town," Marshall, a Squirrel Hill native just turned 41, climaxed a career of creating dance steps and took another big step, joining a select group of women who have directed a Broadway musical. Starring Donna Murphy, Marshall's revival of the 1952 musical by Comden, Green, Bernstein et al, comes after she has already choreographed seven Broadway shows, most notably revivals of "Kiss Me, Kate" and "Follies."

From choreographer to director is the same path taken by her older brother, Rob, whom Marshall served as assistant choreographer on a handful of musicals before setting out on her own. Now she joins Susan Stroman, Graciela Daniele, Julie Taymor, Susan Schulman and just a half-dozen other women who have directed Broadway musicals in the past three decades. Like most, Marshall is both director and choreographer, evidence that women need to be able to do two things well before being invited to join the men who get by on one.

"Kathleen has become the next major director-choreographer," said Roger Berlind, one of the two lead producers of "Wonderful Town." There used to be a prejudice against women running big, complex Broadway musicals, but Berlind noted that as a result the women who have broken through "are top of the heap." Among them, he places Marshall ... "but don't tell her agent I said that, because I want to be able to [afford to] have her work for me again."

He said this late Sunday in the new Mandarin Oriental Hotel at Columbus Circle, in a dramatic 36th floor ballroom with an expansive floor-to-ceiling view across lower Central Park. About 750 celebrants crowded in to eat, drink, schmooze and talk about that evening's opening at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.

	Stage Review: Stylish 'Wonderful Town' delivers energetic revival

It was a starry evening. Among those at the show and party were James Earl Jones, Betty Comden, Lauren Bacall, Patrick Stewart, Eartha Kitt, Tommy Tune, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Marin Mazzie, Kitty Carlisle Hart, playwright Peter Shaffer and such behind-the-scenes powers as Berlind's co-lead producers, Barry and Fran Weissler, and co-producer Harvey Weinstein, who has had a creative and contentious relationship with Rob.

Smiling proudly amid the throng was the rest of the Marshall family -- Kathleen's parents Bob and Anne and older siblings Maura Powell, with husband Dennis, and Rob and his mate John DeLuca. Rob, who made a pretty successful crossover from Broadway into movies with "Chicago," was seen chatting animatedly with Weinstein, producer of "Chicago," with whom he has recently settled his battle over his next movie project.

"I am beyond proud," Rob said of his little sister. "To me, this is an evening that celebrates the actor. To revive a 50-year-old show and make it fresh, with a minimal set, through character and story and great choreography -- those are the things we don't see in many musicals today."

The one Pittsburgher in the cast is Megan Sikora, Murrysville native and 1998 Point Park grad, who says she gave up her role in the well-established hit "Thoroughly Modern Millie" to join "Wonderful Town" specifically for the chance to work with Kathleen Marshall -- and not just so they could indulge their Pittsburghese during rehearsal breaks. Celebrating with Sikora was her boyfriend, Brad Mackenzie, Point Park '97.

Asked what Marshall brought to the project, Fran Weissler specified "originality, humor and great style. And also, she's a doll -- such a nice person."

As midnight came and went, word spread that the reviews -- available online and therefore read on many a hand-held appliance -- included several raves, and that the all-important New York Times review was "85 to 90 percent positive," depending on who was taking its temperature.

One of the last to arrive was star Murphy. This "Wonderful Town" began with her triumph in the concert version Marshall directed in 2000 for the Encores! Series. A two-time Tony winner for "Passion" and "The King and I," Murphy's connection with the Marshalls goes all the way back to "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" (1985), where she and Rob started in the ensemble.

As "Wonderful Town" settles in to digest the reviews and find its audience, Marshall hopes for a breather. She started the fall by choreographing Broadway's "Little Shop of Horrors," and there are plans for her to direct and choreograph a revival of "The Pajama Game." But first she may make her movie directing debut with a major musical for TV. The ink isn't on the contract yet, but she already has choreographed one TV musical ("The Music Man" with Matthew Broderick), putting her on the same track already traveled by Rob.

Sunday night, she and Murphy were the toast of Broadway.

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