The Fifth Dimension, and played in
coffeehouses."
Capitol Records offered the group a
contract. They recorded an album
and, during the late '60s-early '70s,
performed on "The Ed Sullivan
Show" and on "The Tonight Show"
with Johnny Carson.
To advance his singing career,
Garber relocated to New York and
wound up being cast in the movie
Godspell. From that point on, his
focus changed.
"Suddenly I was moving in a differ-
ent direction, and I became an actor,"
says Garber. He went on to perform
with Eli Wallach and Ann Jackson in
The Waltz of the Toreadors, landed the
part of Oswald in Ghost and starred
in many regional plays.
/-
"Then I started to be cast in musi-
cals, which enabled me to both sing
and act."
His impressive resume grew, and on
Broadway he received Tony nomina-
tions for Damn Yankees, Lend Me a
Tenor, Little Me and Deathtrap. In
the 1980s, Garber spent some
time at Detroit's Fisher Theatre
\- starring in They're Playing Our
Song.
Movie parts also came his
way. He has appeared in
The First Wives Club,
Exotica, Sleepless in Seattle
and Light Sleeper, among
others.
Although he was only 16
When he left home to make
it in show business, his par-
ents were surprisingly support-
ive. "My mother, Hope Garber,
was an actress and had her own
talk show in London, Ontario,"
says Garber, who still has family in
London and Toronto. "So I think she
understood. My father, however, was
fearful of what would happen to me.
But the truth is, I was unstoppable."
While Garber had a bar mitzvah
and attended High Holiday services in
earlier years, he now considers himself
a cultural Jew. "My father's parents
came from Poland and my mother's
from Russia, and I was raised Jewish,"
he says. "But I don't actively practice."
No matter what the future brings,
Garber is now delighted to be starring
on the New York stage in Art, and
/--) he'll be in the audience at the Tony
Awards to support the show. E
"Art" is being performed at the
Royale Theatre, 242 W. 45th St.,
in New York City. For tickers, call
(800) 432-7250.
Wgiffrreir
just screaming for joy because I was
so rooting for these people whom I
love."
As the reality began to sink in,
Sills picked up the phone and called
his parents, Arthur and Rhoda Sills,
back home. "My mother was kvel-
ling," he chuckles. 'And my father
was excited but subdued, although I
know on the inside he was jazzed.
They will be coming to New York
for the awards."
Since that night, Sills says, the
phone hasn't stopped ringing.
"Between publicity events and con-
gratulatory calls from people from
the four corners of the globe, its
been incredibly exciting. Still, it's
startling how this is considered the
true measure of notoriety."
Sills' nomination is a well-
deserved recognition after a long
climb to the top. During his sum-
mer vacations while at U-M, he
was a singer in various shows at
Opryland in Nashville. He
took a semester off and
moved to New York and
performed in a musical
workshop while audition-
\ ing for a bevy of parts.
After graduation, he
I
i moved to San Francisco,
where he went to graduate
school at the American
Conserva.wry Theater and
landed. roles in both musicals
and dramas, which frequently
required touring.
At the time Sills was offered the
lead in The Scarlet Pimperne4 he
was living in Los Angeles acting on
sitcoms.
"Being nominated for a Tony was
a childhood fantasy," he admits.
Douglas Sills, playing here opposite
"When I was growing up, I would
Christine Andreas, is up for a Tony
watch the Tonys and think what I
Award for Best Leading Actor in a
would or wouldn't say if I were
Musicalfir his role in "The Scarlet
standing up there. But as I matured
Pimpernel"
and my career was settling in on the
West Coast, I thought [being nomi-
early morning television, when the
nated] would be very unlikely and I
contenders were announced live. "At
let go of the fantasy."
first, when Pimpernel was nominat-
When asked if he will have an
ed, I screamed at the top of my
acceptance speech ready in case his
lungs, Sills recalls.
name is read, Sills says, "Not at all.
"And then when they announced
I'd be afraid I would jinx it."
my name, I silently started to weep.
Amy Nederlander-Case didn't hear
They were both very strong reactions
the news of her nomination for The
but at opposite ends of the spectrum.
Diary of nne Frank until her press
One, very interior, reflecting the past
agent called. "I was busy getting my
20 years, sort of scraping and claw-
children ready for school and wasn't
ing to get where I am. And the other,
Tony Awards may be
taldng
taking place in New York
ity, but there will a lot of
celebrating going on in
Detroit. This year, two of the nomi-
nees are from Franklin — Douglas
Sills, nominated for Best Leading
Actor in a Musical for The Scarlet
Pimpernel and Amy Nederlander-
Case, nominated for Best Revival of
a Play as the producer of The Diary
of Anne Frank.
Sills and Nederlander, who both
attended the University of Michigan,
hope to be among the lucky ones
who walk away with the coveted stat-
uette.
Sills learned of his nomination on
Amy Nederlander-Case poses with her
Timy Award certificate ofnomination.
Neekrlander-Case is nominated in her
role as producer for 'The Diary of
Anne Frank," in the running for Best
Revival of a Play
near a television set when the norni-
nations were being announced," she
says. "Of course, NA,hen I heard, I was
thrilled."
To celebrate, Nederlander-Case
took the nomination certificate to
the theater so she could share the
glory with the cast and crew. "I
wanted to congratulate the entire
cast, because it was really so much
their work that earned it It's such an
ensemble piece," she says. "There
was a lot of hugging going on."
Linda Lavin, who plays Mrs. Van
Daan, received a nomination for Best
Featured Actress in a play.
Although she has received con-
gratulatory calls and notes from the
theater community as well as friends'
back home and around the country,
Neclerlander-Case says the most
meaningful responses have been from
Holocaust survivors.
"We have received letters from
survivors of the Holocaust thanking
us for mounting this production and
keeping the story alive. That is very
rewarding."
When Anne Frank was in the
developmental stages, Nederland.er
wasn't thinking about a Tony Award.
"Sure, it's always in the back of your
mind, but you hope you are doing a
good job and people appreciate your
work."
LOCAL TALENTs on page 93
6/5
1998
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