The Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance, Wayne State University, and the Fisher Theatre on behalf of the Nederlander family presents "The Apple Award" named for Sarah Applebaum Nederlander. The award is presented annually at The Fisher Theatre in Detroit to a nationally recognized theatre professional at a black-tie gala benefit event. Recipients receive $10,000 and a crystal apple signifying the clear vision and care for the performing arts that characterized Sarah Applebaum Nederlander.

2022 Apple Award Recipients - Dominique Morriseau and Ruben Santiago-Hudson

The Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance, a program within the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts at Wayne State University, is thrilled to honor Dominique Morriseau and Ruben Santiago-Hudson with the 2022 Apple Award.

Morriseau and Santiago-Hudson were presented with the award by chair, Dr. Mary Anderson and Associate Professor and Director of the Black Theatre and Dance Collective, Billicia Charnelle Hines, at the 2022 Black Theatre Network Conference.

Detroit native, Dominique Morisseau, is a MacArthur Genius award recipeint who has had over 9 of her plays professionally produced on stage across the country. Morriseau's Broadway musical debut, "Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations" was nominated for a Tony Award in the category of Best Book of a Musical. Her three-play cycle titled, "The Detroit Project," features the plays "Detroit '67," "Paradise Blue," and "Skeleton Crew" which was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play in 2022. Morisseau is a national leader in movements for racial justice and equity in the American theatre.

Santiago-Hudson is an American actor, playwright, and director who has won national awards for his work in all three categories. Santiago-Hudson has been honored with a Lucielle Lortel award for directing and an OBIE Award. In , he received a Tony nomination for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his role in "Lackwanna Blues." He earned his M.F.A. from Wayne State University and was awarded an honorary doctorate from the university as well.

About Sarah Applebaum Nederlander

D.T. frequently brought show people home for dinner and "Apple" never disappointed them. Many in the theatre became her friends including Carol Channing, Deborah Kerr and Gloria Swanson. And though she never knew who D.T. was going to bring home, she welcomed them all … Eddie Cantor, Florenz Ziegfeld, J.J. Shubert, George Jessel, Phil Silvers and many more. When Al Jolson appeared in Detroit he would call and ask her to send down her roast chicken. Then at curtain call, he would sit on the edge of the stage and tell the audience that "Apple made the best roast chicken in the world."

Apple's ability to recognize talent was phenomenal. She heard Helen Morgan singing at the old Oriole Terrace on Brand Blvd. She told D.T., who wired J.J. Shubert to come to Detroit to hear her. He did and immediately signed the singer. When Apple saw Carry Grant dancing in a vaudeville show she told D.T. he was so handsome, he was going to be a star.

Apple was a beautiful woman, regal and elegant, and once voted one of the ten most beautiful women in Detroit. Her children adored her. They talk of her sense of humor, her dry wit, the one‐liners that would break them up and the fact that she managed the family lovingly and calmly. Sarah Applebaum Nederlander was the foundation that anchored a husband who began the theatre dynasty.

Today, that dynasty is carried on by her children.

About the Nederlander Family

In 1931, the Detroit Opera House became a victim of the depression and rang down its curtain for the last time. It was not until 1941 that D.T. found another opportunity to get back into theatre management. Once again with the help of the Shuberts, he took over the Orpheum Theatre on Lafayette, an old Detroit vaudeville house. It was renamed the Shubert‐Lafayette, but later the "Lafayette" was dropped when D.T. took full control.

Through the entrepreneurship of his five sons, the theatrical enterprise that D.T. started grew exponentially and another golden era of show business began in Detroit at the Shubert. Headliners included Fred Allen, Chic Sales, Jack Benny, Eddie Dowling, the Weaver Brothers, Gloria Swanson, Sylvia Sydney, Rex Harrison, the Lunts, Tallulah Bankhead, Julie Harris and Bette Davis. Later the Shubert hosted several shows produced by George C. Scott who was attempting to make Detroit a base for live theatre in Michigan. Before the theatre was torn down in 1963, it served as a tryout how for Tennessee Williams' Night of the Iguana.

In 1961, the Nederlanders assumed the management of the newly redesigned Fisher Theatre. From the moment it opened, it was a success. The Nederlanders built the country's largest subscription audience and offered enticing choices of both light and serious theatre. The Fisher also proved to be a popular place to try out shows before heading to Broadway, including Fiddler on the Roof, Hello, Dolly! and Sweet Charity.

In addition to the Fisher, the Nederlander family operated other Detroit theatres including the Riviera Theatre, where Beckett with Sir Lawrence Olivier, Gypsy with Ethel Merman, and the first road company of My Fair Lady were presented.

During the 1960s, the family's theatrical projects expanded to Chicago, New York and Baltimore. In 1966, D.T. bought the venerable New York legitimate house, the Henry Miller Theatre on West 43rd Street, which was renamed the Nederlander. The family would ultimately own nine theatres in New York City.

In 1967, D.T. passed away and his oldest son, Harry J. Nederlander, passed in January 2002. Yet, the Nederlander family legacy continues. They are the most experienced and successful operators of the largest, most prestigious entertainment facilities in the United States, Canada and Great Britain. The Nederlanders are unique in economic stability, size and diversity of their professional resources, and their demonstrated commitment to the development of successful, first‐class entertainment venues. As theatre developers, owners, managers, producers and promoters, The Nederlander Company, LLC continues to present outstanding plays, musicals, operas, ballets, symphonies, circuses and sporting events of the day.

Previous award recipients include:

• Jeffrey Seller
• Elaine Stritch
• Neil Simon
• Carol Channing
• Stephen Schwartz
• Mandy Patinkin
• Patti Lupone
• Marvin Hamlisch
• Phylicia Rashad