A Golden Night with the New York Pops: Gala Honoree Kathleen Marshall on Falling Down Broadway's Rabbit Hole

By: Apr. 30, 2015
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Few directors and choreographers can get the sort of performance Kathleen Marshall drew out of Sutton Foster in the 2011 revival of ANYTHING GOES; few can get them to keep going, to push through an eight-minute act closer, with hefty tapping and belting. Fewer still can stitch it all up into one of the most rousing, palpitation-inducing musical moments in decades.

But Marshall did it, consistently does it - and does it well. From NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT with Matthew Broderick and Kelli O'Hara to GREASE, to THE PAJAMA GAME with Harry Connick Jr., and again, O'Hara, she's put her stamp on a slew of Broadway theaters, most recently at the Longacre, where LIVING ON LOVE is currently wrapping its run.

Marshall's unequivocal drive, the work ethic that has propelled her to the list of the top Broadway helmers, has never gone unnoticed. With nine Tony nominations and three wins under her belt, with 'LOVE' living it up in New York, and EVER AFTER rehearsing for its run at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse, she shows no signs of slowing.

And again, another organization has taken notice.

The New Golden Age with the New York Pops

On Monday, May 4, at its 32nd Birthday Gala at Carnegie Hall titled 'The New Golden Age,' Steven Reineke and the New York Pops will honor her relentless talent ('relentless' being the same word she and Foster strove for in ANYTHING GOES' no-holds-barred dance number), alongside her brother, Oscar nominated stage and screen director Rob Marshall. Performers on tap to honor the pair include Alan Cumming, Foster, Bebe Neuwirth, Laura Benanti, O'Hara, and many others - all of which have taken the stage under one of the Marshalls' direction during their careers. In anticipation of the big night, the always in-demand director and choreographer recently spoke with BroadwayWorld.

"I was shocked. I remember thinking: 'I must be the plus-one in this scenario.'" she said, laughing. "And then, My next thought was 'we're not composers!"

The Marshalls are the first non-composing duo to be celebrated by the Pops at the gala. Previous honorees include Tony-winning writing parters Lynn Ahrens and Steven Flaherty and Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman.

Marshall with ANYTHING GOES stars Joey Grey & Foster

"I was just at Carnegie Hall for Sutton Foster's concert," she said. "Which was amazing. She was astonishing. I was walking in and thinking: 'the next time I'm going to be here is when they honor us!' It's pretty overwhelming."

Most exciting for Marshall, however, might be the lineup Reineke and the POPS have enlisted for the evening.

"I'm so overwhelmed with the people who are showing up," Marshall said. "To see all of those people in one place, who we've worked with and known and loved for years and years, is going to be amazing. And just to hear that orchestra...to not only see so many of our dear friends perform, but to see them in Carnegie Hall and with that huge orchestra, because we never get anywhere near that on Broadway, will be great."

Reineke and company's ability to continuously craft and contract the large-scale events for a single night only continuously blows the Tony winner away.

"I think what's wonderful is that we also know how hard it is to put anything together. Whether it's a high school play or an event like this at Carnegie Hall, we all appreciate how many people put so much time and effort into making an event like this happen. It's just amazing what Steven Reineke and the Pops do," she said. "It's such a great organization. They're so wonderful. I'm just blown away. Leading up to it, it's felt like the anticipation of your wedding: you know how wonderful it's going to be - and how it's going to go by too quickly."

But the gala is only one of the many plates Marshall is spinning thus far in 2015. The ever-busy creative, known for working on many projects at once, is at it again. While LIVING ON LOVE runs, she's also been at work on the world premiere of EVER AFTER. To do so, Marshall says she has to keep herself mentally clear, and most importantly, present.

On theatrical double-dipping, she said: "It's a little crazy. But my motto is 'whatever room you're in, is the room you're in.' You have to give 100 percent of your concentration to whatever you're doing at the time. And when you leave that behind, you have to really leave it behind and move on to the next thing."

Marshall consistently moves from one room to the next, from one theatre to the next, with award-winning performer after the next. Stunner after stunner.

One of her brightest stunners, a performance finely crafted both in choreography and direction, capturing what Marshall is able to draw from her actors, countering what's presumed possible for any one person eight times a week, was Marshall's take on the title number from ANYTHING GOES, led by Foster.

Bringing it to the stage for Roundabout's revival may not have been easy, and the theatrical temperance of the number may have fluctuated throughout rehearsal as these things do, but Marshall and Foster were consistently in step. She said: "So many times with the title number from Anything Goes, the leading lady leaves the stage and the dancers take over. We knew Sutton could lead the whole dance. She could be the pied piper. So we formed the whole number around her. As we were developing it, I kept trying to find ways that allowed her to take a break - and she refused, [Foster] said, "Let's keep going, let's keep going!"

And they did. "Unlike other dances with tempo changes or a break to insert different moves, we wanted it to be relentless. Once we got into the big dance break, it never really changes rhythm. It's constant, constant," she punctuates. "It was just relentless."

It worked out, with both ladies taking home Tonys that year.

"Sutton, you are a long-stemmed, American beauty rose," Marshall said during her acceptance speech, beaming from Radio City's stage. "We have two twin babies named Ella and Nathaniel," she added, while thanking her husband, Scott Landis. "But, I think after tonight, we're going to change their names to Antoinette and Perry."

Marshall, deserving and spirited and lovely, left the 2011 Tonys season behind on top, award in hand.

"I think what rabbit hole did I fall down to be in this crazy world?" Marshall said. "We're in an unusual profession that just for doing our jobs, we get parties and nominations and awards. Most people don't have that just for doing their job."

In celebration of the POPS' annual gala, honoring Marshall, take a look back at some of her finest directed and choreographed numbers below!

Single tickets for the concert range from $65 to $160 and are available at http://www.carnegiehall.org/, by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 or at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, at 57th Street and 7th Avenue.


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