Greta Gerwig’s Catholic High School is Throwing a ‘Lady Bird’-Themed Oscar Party
Zack Sharf
Greta Gerwig has gone on record calling “Lady Bird” a semi-autobiographical story, so it shouldn’t be too surprising to hear that Gerwig’s hometown of Sacramento, California is planning big things for Oscar night. Gerwig’s movie is up for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and the writer-director’s Catholic high school is throwing its own “Lady Bird”-themed Oscar party. Anyone who has seen “Lady Bird” knows how instrumental Gerwig’s all-girl Catholic high school years were to the creation of the film.
St. Francis High in Sacramento walked Vanity Fair through its Oscar party plans, and the “Lady Bird”-themed decor is spot on. The party is organized in honor of Gerwig’s 2002 graduation class. The school is so proud of Gerwig, who is only the fifth woman nominated for Best Director, that A24’s official “Lady Bird” poster is mounted in the school’s administrative office along with a crucifix and a photo of the pope.
The party will include a cardboard cutout of Gerwig and a video tribute to Gerwig’s time attending St. Francis. Similar to Lady Bird, Gerwig was a member of the school’s theater program and starred in productions of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” and “The Apple Tree.” The Oscars telecast will be live streamed in the school’s gymnasium. The school is expecting around 350 guests to attend.
“It’s going to be uniquely St. Francis, uniquely Sacramento,” MaryAnne Kelly, director of advancement at St. Francis, tells Vanity Fair. “The atmosphere will be spectacular.”
Gerwig announced on the inaugural A24 podcast that she’d be sticking with her hometown in future directorial projects. Taking inspiration from author Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan quartet, Gerwig is planning to make three more films set in Sacramento.
“[‘Lady Bird’] is one part of Sacramento, but there’s a lot of different parts I’d like to explore,” Gerwig said. “I have the inner privilege of being from a place and I’m really from that place. My family didn’t move. My family is still there. My friends are still there. I can actually speak to it with some feeling.”
“Lady Bird” is now playing in theaters. The Oscars telecast airs this Sunday, March 4, and 8pm ET.
