MONDAY EVENING WITH MARNI AND STEPHEN

FEBRUARY 23 MON
An Evening with Marni Nixon
Question: what do these three great movie musical roles have in common? Deborah Kerr’s Anna in The King and I, Natalie Wood’s Maria in West Side Story, and Audrey Hepburn’s Eliza in My Fair Lady. Answer: the glorious singing voice of Marni Nixon, who dubbed the vocals for each of these musically-demanding parts and, despite the absence of screen credit, soon became famous as “the ghostess with the mostest,”as Time dubbed her. But, on top of those three legendary roles, she also dubbed the singing voices of Margaret O’Brien (twice — once in Hindi!) and Jeanne Crain, hummed for Janet Leigh, and even touched up the high notes for Marilyn Monroe. (She also sang on screen as Sister Sophia in The Sound of Music). But Marni’s life as a “ghost” is only a small part of an extraordinary career that stretches back to her L.A. childhood. A favorite on the concert and opera stages, she has worked side by side with such legendsas Igor Stravinsky, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Pierre Boulez, Charles Ives, and Arnold Schoenberg (not to mention Victor Borge, Liberace, and Lawrence Welk!), while maintaining a parallel career on the musical stage. In recent years, Marni has appeared on Broadway in James Joyce’s The Dead, Follies, and Nine and has long been a much sought-after vocal teacher. Tonight, Marni Nixon will appear in person for an onstage interview with Film Forum’s Bruce Goldstein and award-winning musical theater writer Stephen Cole, co-author (or “ghost writer”) of Marni’s frank autobiography, I Could Have Sung All Night, which will be available for sale at Film Forum.
Admission: $20, $10 for Film Forum members. 7:30