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Wednesday, March 19, 2003

By Barbara Vancheri, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Rob Marshall will be wearing a Prada tuxedo on Oscar night -- plus the hopes of the entire New York theater community, legions of "Chicago" fans and plenty of Pittsburghers watching the 75th Academy Awards.

	Rob Marshall: "All of this has been such a fun ride. I haven't quite believed it." Photo Journal Rob Marshall: Chicago

And as of yesterday, the director who is the odds-on favorite to win the top prizes had been told the show would proceed. Quoting Oscar producer Gil Cates, Marshall said, "His feeling is it will go on. That's sort of the American way. Clearly, the tone will be different, if people are actually fighting [in Iraq]. Because there has to be a sense of reverence about that, and I'm sure there will be," he added, in a late morning phone call from his luxurious Los Angeles-area hotel.

In a way, it harks back to the call for normalcy after the terrorist strikes in New York, Marshall's usual turf. "It's important to say we have to continue our lives. That's how we got through 9/11, I think. Everybody said come back to New York, come back to Broadway. It's that spirit that makes us truly American."

And given the lineup of presenters -- Susan Sarandon was announced yesterday and "Chicago" star Richard Gere had already been on board -- viewers might anticipate a few wayward comments, although Marshall expects dissent to be dignified.

Marshall and his life partner of 20 years, John DeLuca, a stage director/choreographer, have been in Los Angeles since March 1, when the Directors Guild Awards propelled Marshall past "Gangs of New York's" Martin Scorsese as the favorite in the Oscar race. It's been one awards show (and party invitation -- Miramax, Harvey Weinstein, Vanity Fair, Elton John and agent Ed Limato, to name a few) after another, with "Chicago" coming out on top, more often than not.

With the other members of Oscar's Class of 2002, he received his certificate and Academy Awards sweatshirt and sat for a class picture at the nominees luncheon. "The last two called were Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zellweger. Standing there, it was so great to see Velma and Roxie" together again, by virtue of alphabetical serendipity.

It was Zellweger, in the flush of victory at the Screen Actors Guild, who had told the black-tie crowd: "Every single one of you in here needs to get on the phone and get a lunch with Rob Marshall next week." And many of them, such as Sherry Lansing at Paramount and "A Beautiful Mind" producer Brian Grazer, listened or were one step ahead.

He's been sharing lots of lunches and receiving "lots and lots of material, lots and lots of scripts. I haven't really started digging into them; that's my job on March 24. ... 'Chicago' ultimately has been three years of my life. What you want to do is feel as passionately about a project as I did about 'Chicago,' so that's what's next." Ideally, it will be something that will challenge him in a different way.

Cates has decreed that no winner can pull out a sweaty slip of paper and read off a thank-you list. Marshall doesn't want to be presumptuous or jinx anything, so he's not scribbling such a roster. "I think I'll have categories in my head," he says. That way he can thank the cast, producers, creative team and his family, if his name is inside the sealed envelope.

Marshall is flying his family -- parents Bob and Anne from Squirrel Hill, sister Maura and brother-in-law Dennis, and choreographer sister Kathleen -- to Los Angeles first class and putting them up at his hotel. "It's one of those special times that rarely happens. It will be a really fun evening for them" as they walk the red carpet in their formal gowns, hair and makeup professionally done.

The actors who worked with Marshall on "Chicago" cannot say enough laudatory things about him. Gere affectionately called it the "Rob Marshall Vaudeville and Medicine Show" and said, "I have never, ever had such fun in my life as an actor." He also said that from day one, cast and crew were family.

Marshall, who was off to Oscar rehearsal yesterday to work with the dancers and performers on the nominated "I Move On" number, credits his parents with teaching him what it means to lead a family. "I really feel that, at its core, directing is being a great parent. Because you have to create an atmosphere and a tone of positive reinforcement, where people can work at their best ability and without judgment. ...

"To me, you are creating a family, and you live together, especially on a musical where you have six weeks of rehearsal, and, during that time, we really bonded as a company. To me, my job is to be the head of that family and make sure everybody is happy and everybody is working hard. That is learned from my family."

The lessons included positive reinforcement. He always believed there was nothing he couldn't achieve. "I always felt everything I did was really great."

Marshall's other family, the New York theater community that also cheered when his caricature was unveiled at Sardi's in one of those "It's a Wonderful Life" moments, has been sending calls and letters of support. Actor Charles Nelson Reilly bumped into Marshall recently in L.A. and quipped, "A gypsy's on the throne."

And no one's looking to displace him anytime soon.