Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School is pleased to announce a gift of $75,000 given to the school to provide ongoing support for the arts by Rob Marshall, award-winning film and theater director and a 1974 Falk alumnus, on behalf of his family—sisters Maura Marshall Powell (class of 1974), a successful architectural designer, and Kathleen Marshall (class of 1976), a Tony Award–winning Broadway director and choreographer; and their parents, Robert and Anne Marshall.

The Marshalls’ gift will go to support the arts at Falk Lab School and to update the Multi-Purpose Room/Theater space, which will be renamed the Marshall Family Theater in honor of the family. Generations of Falk students, including the Marshalls, gave their first performances on that stage in Falk Lab School plays and musicals, as well as attending music and physical education classes in the space.

“It was a wonderful space,” says Rob of the Multi-Purpose Room. “It was everything—our cafeteria, graduation space, and theater. It was very special to us.”

Recalling Falk productions of Fiddler on the Roof, Oliver, and Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, Kathleen adds, “Those were really the first shows that my brother and sister and I did. Our love of theater and of performing came from that.”

Twins Rob and Maura attended Falk Lab School from 1965 to 1974, while their younger sister, Kathleen, attended 1967–1976. Today, Maura owns a design-build firm in the Washington, D.C., area, while Kathleen has won numerous awards, including 3 Tonys, for her work as a director and choreographer on Broadway. Rob began his career in theater before transitioning to film, directing blockbuster films such as the Oscar-winning Chicago, Memoirs of a Geisha, and Mary Poppins Returns, among others. Robert Marshall, a professor of English, served as Dean of the University of Pittsburgh’s College of Arts and Sciences for a number of years, while Anne Marshall completed her teacher education career as the coordinator of Elementary Education at Pitt’s School of Education.

“They always wanted to go to school,” says Bob Marshall. “They just loved it.”

“As they grew older, Falk seemed to fit more and more because of this strong arts program and the teachers who were there,” adds Anne.

Learning to work well with others is another Falk Lab School skill that’s been critical to the Marshalls’ successful careers. Working together with classmates in one of the school’s “project rooms” helped them learn to communicate with others and to accommodate a range of strengths and perspectives, attributes that have been vital in the heavily collaborative worlds of theater and film.

“I remember going into those project rooms and having so much fun,” says Maura Powell. “They were a place for us to be creative and I loved that.”

For Rob, working with classmates in the project rooms helped him learn to communicate with others and to accommodate a range of strengths and perspectives, attributes that have been vital in the heavily collaborative worlds of theater and film.

The Marshalls’ gift will be used to make immediate upgrades to the theater space, including updating its sound system.

“The things that are showcased onstage come from a place in the heart as much as the mind,” says Falk Lab School director Jill Sarada. “When the students are onstage demonstrating these things, the audience can be transported to another place. By upgrading the sound system, we hope to make the experience more enchanting for families and for the performers themselves.”

The gift is a celebration for a family with close ties not only to Falk but to the University of Pittsburgh. Robert Marshall Senior is the former Dean of Pitt’s School of Arts and Sciences, while Anne is a School of Education alumna and taught in the School.

In 2011, Falk honored all three Marshall children with its Distinguished Alumni Award.

“It was a wonderful and nurturing environment and I’m so happy I went there,” says Kathleen. “I learned how to learn and to see being curious as a fun thing to do, and I think that philosophy carried throughout the school.”

“One of the most meaningful pieces of this gift is that the family has vivid memories of Falk being part of their origin stories, a place that set them on a path,” says Falk Lab School director Jill Sarada.

“It’s also incredibly powerful to reflect on the way that Falk created a space for the Marshalls to take risks in a supportive environment,” she adds. “Giving students the freedom to explore who they are and what they’re passionate about remains absolutely central to the Falk experience.”

Asked about the family’s hopes for the gift, Maura says, “I just hope it continues to be as it was when we were there. You don’t have to be headed to Broadway to participate in the arts. Participate whether it’s onstage or backstage, front of house, back of house, however you can contribute. It’s the group experience that’s important.”

“I'm very excited about being able to name this theater in honor of our family,” says Rob. “It’s rare that you’re able to do something so special and lasting. Falk really shaped all of us and that’s why this honor means so much.”

The renamed Multi-Purpose Room/Theater space is only the second location within Falk Lab School to be renamed in recognition of a philanthropic gift, with the school’s Ann and Henry Fisher Library being the first. The school itself was named in recognition of Fanny Edel Falk, the mother of Leon Falk, Jr., and Marjorie Falk Levy, who in 1931 purchased the land the school sits on and arranged its charter with the University of Pittsburgh.