NR: So, three years from now, if a high profile role came along that you really wanted to do, would you think twice because you knew that in addition to that role, all of this would come with it?

DS: No, I would just go about it differently. If I felt I wasn't in a position by tackling that role, to also accommodate THAT, I would approach THAT differently and the boundaries would be much tighter. I would not be able to encourage the growth of that venue, of that occurrence, of that Internet grouping. I would just handle it differently. I don't think it would keep me from taking a part. I'll tell you what's daunting - I would think twice before I'd sign on for a year doing something, or long term. You know, doing a high profile piece for a month or two, you can handle just about anything. You can create a boundary, you can protect yourself, you could live in the building, you could have a massage every day. Over a year, or two years, it's taxing, so I would think twice before I would do that.

NR: Well, you kind of created your own monster.

DS: Um hmm. Absolutely. Completely. It's not a monster, and I absolutely fed it. I completely created it and absolutely consciously. I made a commitment to that as a part of my journey in the piece, to doing that, to cultivating that.

NR: Did it grow bigger than you expected?

DS: No. I just ended up doing the part longer than I thought. Who knows, in terms of "drug effect," who knows what long term effects are? Who knows how you're going to feel, twenty months down the line, dealing with that every night? And, the truth is, most people are very understanding outside the stage door. People want to know how long I spend out there. It can vary from six or seven minutes to fifty minutes, but usually no more, and usually somewhere in between. It's not the time, it's the energy. It takes a lot of energy to be present and be the jocular person that people are eager to see after the play because they had a nice time, and they want to see somebody who also had a nice time. They want to have a cap on that. They want MORE, actually, is what they want I assume. If you have a good experience in the theater, you want it to go on. It's like when a movie ends or a great book ends, you want it to continue. So, that takes a lot of energy. But, I know I absolutely created it. I fed it. Somebody said, metaphorically, "Would you have dinner with me?" and I said, "Have dinner with you? I'll MAKE dinner!" So, I take complete responsibility for that.

NR: One last thing. I received questions from 52 people for this interview, and the NUMBER ONE QUESTION is - How can they reach you after May 30th?

DS: I don't know how. My instinct is to drop out of sight for awhile. It's a tremendous responsibility to receive mail from people who are "work friends." Or, to be completely frank, "work acquaintances with whom I'm very friendly" because it's not a friendship per se. It's an acquaintance, and we're very friendly in that acquaintance. That's a tremendous responsibility. When I get a piece of mail or a letter, I feel obligated to respond - to listen, to hear what the person is saying, and answer, and I don't want that responsibility for awhile. I'm willing to accept that responsibility while I'm in this chair, and after that, I feel like I want to reclaim my time. I also want to leave behind what is that adulation and that praise, and part of that praise is people who are interested in my life who are not particularly family or friends. I don't mean that to sound cold at all, but we're not friends, we're acquainted, on an intimate level in some ways because you've seen intimacy on stage. My heart has been put out there, over and over. So, I'm going to be out of touch for an indefinite period of time. It's important for me to touch base, touch the earth, to understand exactly who I am without all the icing. "What is that cake anyway? What's under there? Is there even any cake in there? What's left?" Because it is icing. It's wonderful but you can't live on that. It's not nourishing. It's not substantial. It's dessert. It's a side dish. It can't be the stuff that life is made of, otherwise you become one of those caricatures like Norma Desmond. So, I'm going to be out of touch for awhile. I'm grateful for the impulse to communicate and I'm sure that people will understand that if I'm going to make another beautiful plant (to use a metaphor), then it has to spring from the soil, from earth, and I have to put my hands in that earth again. Right now my head's in the clouds still from this ethereal experience of taking a bow before 2000 people every night in the center of all these talented people. It's completely unreal. It's an unreal experience and I need some real experience to reacquaint myself with life.

NR: If you do something else, will you let us know?

DS: Oh, sure. Sure. Absolutely, you guys will know. I'm scared to leave it. Don't misunderstand. It's very nerve wracking to say I'm going to leave this behind voluntarily, but better voluntarily, than have it ripped away from me, or fade away, or drop away, which is heart-breaking. So, I just think that whatever good came out of my work came out of something grounded.

NR: Are you really convinced that people are going to be saying "Douglas who?" in a year?

DS: No... I don't know. The industry to some degree is already saying "Douglas who?" because we're in the new spring of "Tony fever." I don't want that sense of...that's why I wanted to leave March 7th because I wanted to leave when the project was strong and I could walk away. As the project comes to a close, there's a sadness that's very hard to endure, and I wanted specifically to avoid that. That's why I wanted to leave March 7th. You want to leave while things are on a high note.

NR: There's still going to be a lot of focus on you, but it will probably be less now that a lot of people are leaving on May 30th. Not only are a lot of people leaving, THE SHOW is leaving.

DS: Yeah, but having that focus on you as you leave is kind of a wonderful sendoff.

NR: Well, yeah, but you didn't want it. You kept saying, "Don't do anything special."

DS: Oh, but it would have been there in spirit. Not an event, but in spirit. So, I think that's the best thing for me... I think. I'm very convinced it could be "Douglas who?"

NR: (laughing) We're taking bets on how long it will be before you pop up and say, "Hi. You're not talking about me anymore."

DS: You know, the couple of times I went to the Internet, and I would see that nobody had posted on one of the boards for a couple of days, I thought, "Oh, nobody really cares." That's what makes me think I have to find out what the core is. The fact that I was looking at that and that even occurred to me means, "OK, you're in the wrong place. You need to be back here." But, it's a place that anyone who had been subject to what I've been subject to would be inclined to be interested in.

NR: That makes sense. Douglas, thank you so much.

DS: You're welcome.

There's not much more that can be said about Douglas Sills that hasn't already been said. To have his Broadway debut be so incredibly successful is really quite a testament to his talent and his spirit. It will be very interesting to see where he goes from here.

To Douglas - God speed and don't stay away too long. I've enjoyed being one of your "friendly acquaintances" and I very much look forward to your next project.

Questions suggested by:

Thom and Colleen Rosati, Anne Teitelbaum, Cathy, Renee Girard, Samantha, Nesha Sellers, Kathy Thurlow, Michele Bettwy, Andrew Reith, Meena J. Rao, Josie Smith, AJ Jacobsen, Jessica Boston, Terri Wallace, Christina Davis, Aimee Cherry, Christopher Kight, Noel Elliott-Small, Liz Honig, Jessica, Mellisa, Lori Dernelle, Helen, Meredith Szeliga, Leona Hoegsberg, Virginia, Robin O'Neill, Barbara Shumway, Elizabeth, Kat Geer, Dewayne Carter, Aaron Grant, Melissa Farkas, Sara Taddeo, Mary Helfrick, Phyllis Palemire, Elizabeth Colpo, Amy Taylor, Pat Wafer, Eileen Courtien, Megan Lynn Marod, Holly, Jody Uyanik, Lauren Teweles, Melanie, Judith Pfister, Michelle, Tom Robson, Carolyn Peters, Stephanie Henkin, Amy Lovett

Interview conducted and photographs by Nancy Rosati.