Press

Represaentative writing about me and my work

Interview with Persimmon Tree

And I would get up on one leg and show them the choreography for “Brussels,” – and they all understood what I was doing. I had been a Broadway baby from the beginning.

I was doing Jacques Brel, and a Boston TV show called People Magazine interviewed the cast. And one of the cast members, the chauffeur who took me from the hospital, said, ‘Anita was born in a trunk. She breathes theater. She knows theater so well that you can chop off her leg and she will still know exactly what she wants at every single moment in the show. And it works. And we get great reviews.’

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Marvelous feature by NY Times Bestseller Julie Salamon

In 1975, Bernard R. Hollander, a Cleveland lawyer and cantor, died suddenly and unexpectedly of a heart attack at age 48. After his death, his family discovered these words scribbled on a piece of paper in his desk: “Beyond the welfare of one’s family and friends, the enhancement of the lives of others and those to come must be the real object of life.”

His daughter, Anita Hollander, took her father’s words to heart. She has dedicated her life to the enhancement of others through art and advocacy, in a career that hasincluded singing, acting, producing, directing, musical theater, television drama, composing, teaching and conducting. For the past 17 years, Anita has also been the director of The Village Temple Children’s Choir, and for the past 18 months, our soloist for Shabbat services (alternating with Gerard Edery) and creator of marvelous new melodies for our liturgy, including her moving rendition of Mi Shebeirach and ingenious use of beloved Joni Mitchell and James Taylor melodies.

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Actress Anita Hollander at Kent State, speaking about her life and experiences.

Throughout the month of October, Kent State’s Student Accessibility Services (SAS) center has been advocating disAbility Awareness across campus along with the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, the Panhellenic Council and the Undergraduate Student Government.

The ‘d’ in disAbility is lower-cased and the ‘A’ is capitalized because SAS aims to “stress the ability within disAbility” said Sue Smith who is the editorial communications associate at SAS.

There are approximately 1,000 students registered with SAS at Kent State University, according to Dr. Amy Quillin who is the associate director at SAS.

Hollander is renowned for her roles on “Law & Order”, “As the World Turns” and playing Grizabella, a cat shunned by the rest of the tribe, in the world Broadway play, “CATS."

Hollander was diagnosed at the age of 21 with neruofibrosarcoma, a form of cancer of the connective tissue surrounding nerves. After going to nine doctors that just thought she had a pinched nerve, finally the tenth doctor noticed something the others didn’t in a test, and a tumor was found in her leg. The doctors did surgery and removed most of the sciactic nerve in her leg and she walked with a brace for five years, still performing. But cancer cells had been left in her leg and the tumor grew back.

Chemotherapy had damaged her leg so much to the point that it was past repair, so at the age of 26 the doctor felt it was necessary to amputate her left leg.

Dramatist Magazine Feature

I had the great honor of being on a Dramatists Guild panel for the Albee Issue of The Dramatist Magazine, which was fascinating in its exploration of non-traditional casting of Albee’s (and others’) plays. The widely diverse group of writers made for a lively conversation over several pages of the special issue.

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POWER PLAYS

June 2014: Had the GREATEST time performing in POWER PLAYS with Theatre Breaking Through Barriers (www.tbtb.org). Among the 5 world premiere short plays by John Guare, David Henry Hwang, Neil LaBute, Bruce Graham and Bekah Brunstetter, I had the ultimate pleasure of opening the show with Ms. Brunstetter's Murder, one of the funniest plays I've ever been lucky enough to premiere, especially Off Broadway (Harold Clurman Theatre, Theatre Row, NYC). I finally put my Carnegie Mellon stage-fighting certification to work (complete with blood capsules and hysterical choreography by David Brimmer). Fabulous fun and terrific reviews, including the NY Times. AND we've been invited to do this show in JAPAN in September, 2014!!!

"The actors approach the material with pluck and devotion, particularly Pamela Sabaugh and Anita Hollander. Ms. Sabaugh is legally blind; Ms. Hollander moves assertively on only one leg. Their fierce and funny knife fight is a treat." Read More

"The show opens with sparkling naturalism punctuated by violent fantasy in Bekah Brunstetter‘s Murder. Pamela Sabaugh and Anita Hollander have brilliant fun with the delicious dark humor of Brunstetter’s dialogue, in which at least half the meaning lies in the pauses and silences and interruptions."  Read More

"As the seasoned author, Hollander relishes her quips and slaps, a welcome answer to the false modesty of Sabaugh’s newly successful author. Brunstetter has a light, yet searing finesse, and well-paced direction by Christina Roussos kicked the evening off with a bang." Read More

"I would have loved to have seen more of Anita Hollander, who played “Bridget” in Bekah Brunsetter’s Murder." Read More

"Pamela Sabaugh's Lonnie and Anita Hollander's Bridget are friends, but are now encountering a phase of competitive jealousy over their careers. The realistic dialogue is peppered with a few surreal moments that make it really enjoyable." Read More

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Miscelaneous Reviews

‘Cats’ Has Lost None of Its Charm Over Three Decades
Ocean Professional Theatre Co. Performers, Audiences All Have Fun
By RICK MELLERUP | Jul 22, 2013 The Sand Paper

In the 1950s there was a raging debate in New York City. Who was the best centerfielder in town and probably in all of baseball – Willie (Mays of the Giants), Mickey (Mantle of the Yankees) or the Duke (Snider of the Dodgers)? I have a similar internal debate raging in my head as I write this. Who was the best Grizabella I’ve ever seen in “Cats”?
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BROADWAY WORLD REVIEWS: CATS at Ocean Professional Theatre Company

A family favorite and once longest running show on Broadway is playing in Barnegat, New Jersey. The Ocean Professional Theater Company is bringing in the talent for this and one of many impressive productions. The strength of this mounting of Cats is its direction and choreography. Seasoned producing artistic director Steve Steiner has the good instinct to bring in a team of directors who have graced the stages in the feline costumes.
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‘Still Standing’ a Kick-Butt Show Even If Star Has Only One Leg Jul 31, 2013 The SandPaper

Folks who saw Anita Hollander’s portrayal of Grizabella in the just-closed Ocean Professional Theatre Company production of “Cats” know she is a fine actress and singer. They also may have noticed another thing about Hollander – she only has one leg. Oh, some audience members were confused. They’re not accustomed to seeing one-legged performers, and wondered how the theater company had tucked her leg so successfully behind her.
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Give a Listen!

I did this wonderful internet interview on Elyn Jacobs' show Survive and Live Well on January 29, 2013. Lovely how she wove my songs into the chat.