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Delivery Available ON ANY TRAY as Offer expires 3-1-90 SPECIALTY TRAYS • MEAT TRAYS • DAIRY TRAYS • SALAD & SANDWICH ASSORTMENT • SALAD TRAY • FRESH VEGETABLE CRUDITE • FRESH FRUIT & BRIE • SMOKED SALMON TRAY • BEEF TENDERLOIN TRAY • HOT & COLD APPETIZER SELECTION • DESSERT TRAY 32839 Northwestern Hwy. Tiffany Plaza, Bet. 14 & Middlebelt Farmington Hills c f 7•5190 COUPON FAMILY ITALIAN DINING & PIZZA 4033 W. 12 MILE, 3 Blks. E. of Greenfield Berkley 548-3650 1-RIMY HOMEMADE GAMIC DREAD ,SQUARE PI/LA MID PUB SMALL OR LARK SMALL-MED-LARGE OFF ON FOOD PURCHASES OF $6 OR MORE DINING ROOM, CARRY-OUT Expires December 31, 1990 • BANQUET ROOMS • BEER • WINE COMPLETE CARRY-OUT • COCKTAILS 74 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1990 1 rom the time he was a child, Stephen Hanan had dreamed of becom- ing an actor. His first appearance on stage was as a third-grader, acting in a Purim play. Since then, Hanan has hit San Francisco as a street per- former; Broadway, creating the role of Gus, the theater cat in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats; and London, starring as Thenardier, the innkeeper, in Les Miserables. This week, Hanan made his Detroit debut, starring as Captain Hook in Peter Pan at the Fisher Theatre. The show runs through Mar- ch 4. Hanan grew up in Wash- ington, D.C., in an Orthodox Jewish home. Both of his grandfathers were cantors, and he said he inherited his vocal chords from them. As college students at Harvard, Hanan's classmates included actors John Lithgow, Stockard Channing and Tommy Lee Jones. Not only did Hanan act on stage, he also wrote a full-length musical, A Hit and a Myth, staged by the Hasty Pudding Club at Har- vard. "Acting now supports my writing habit," Hanan said. He later wrote David Dances, produced at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco and Rainbow's Return, stag- ed in New York. Hanan's first professional role was the part of the tailor in The Taming of the Shrew which starred Raul Julia and Meryl Streep. "Working with Meryl was delightful. This was in 1978, before she became a well- known movie star," he said. "Once the show opened, she was shooting Kramer vs. Kramer during the day and performing Shrew at night." Hanan made his Broadway debut in Linda Ronstadt's 1980 production of The Pi- rates of Penzance. His next role was in Cats, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award. In 1986, Hanan went to London to perform in Les Miserab les. "I had a ball playing Thenardier. It was wonder- ful because I had received Actor Stephen Hanan. my acting training in Lon- don in 1969. And I hadn't been back there since," said Hanan, who attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. Playing Captain Hook is the third time Hanan ap- pears as a pirate. In addition to Pirates of Penzance, he played one in Cats, where he walked the plank during a flashback number. He also said his innkeeper role in Les Miz was "like a quick sketch for Captain Hook — both of them being deeply ruthless, cruel and violent characters." Hanan admitted that he doesn't remember well the animated Disney version of Peter Pan, explaining, "This production is much more like the original play from 1904, which is really a play for adults — even though it's a wonderful thing to take children to." Having acted a bit part in the movie The Chosen, Hanan would like to appear in more movies in the future, but also wants to continue writing and acting on stage. He said he would love to play Leontes in The Winter's Tale and appear in other Shakespeare and Shaw plays. Peter Pan opened in Boston in mid-December and has been flying ever since, which has left Hanan a little hungry for a home-cooked meal. No longer Orthodox, Hanan still craves kosher food. "Doing a national tour like this and traveling from hotel to hotel makes me appreci- ate the incredible luxury of a home-cooked meal," he said. "If anyone in Detroit knows how to make really good matzo ball soup, I'm eager to try it. It would be great if he or she wanted to bring some to me after the show," he laughs. ❑ Music And Family Roots Are Important To Nero RITA CHARLESTON Special to The Jewish News H e was a child prodigy who loved to play the piano but hated to practice. So his father, a social worker, would accompany him to his lessons, taking notes and writing them out on three-by-five cards. His mother, a Spanish teacher, was the one who would chastise him when she realiz- ed the boy wasn't practicing his Bach or Beethoven. "But when my mother got a full time job with the New York City school system and was out all day, I'd be free to do my own thing," Peter Nero recalls from his home in Philadelphia where he now heads the Philly Pops. "Today that's called improvisation, and if a child shows that kind of interest it's encouraged in addition to his or her regular studies." Born Bernie Niewrow in Brooklyn, Nero started his formal musical training at the age of 7. By the time he was 14, he had won numerous piano competitions, a scholar- ship to the Julliard School of Music and had made guest appearances with symphony orchestras. While a senior at Brooklyn College, Nero won first place in many talent competitions, including top honors on "The Arthur Godfrey Show." By the time he graduated from col- lege he was on his way to establishing himself among the top jazz pianists in New York, appearing in major clubs throughout the city and then Las Vegas. Once recognized as a jazz artist, Nero began to experi- ment, combining jazz with the classics. By 1961 he had become a national "name" as a result of his consistently best-selling albums, eight