Perchik's Soap Box To Be Taken Over By Soap Star in Fiddler Feb. 15

By Kenneth Jones
11 Feb 2005

Paul Anthony Stewart
Paul Anthony Stewart

Robert Petkoff, who created the role of Perchik the revolutionary in the current Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof, exits the show Feb. 13, making way for the entrance Paul Anthony Stewart, of TV's "Guiding Light," Feb. 15.

Petkoff has been with the company at the Minskoff Theatre for a year, and is heard on the revival cast album on the PS Classics label.

Stewart's Broadway credits include Cyrano, the Musical, in which he played Christian, in the 1993-94 season. He has played Danny Santos on "Guiding Light" since 1998.

The Fiddler company is led by Harvey Fierstein, who plays Tevye, a milkman in a Russian village. Perchik has his eye on one of Tevye's five daughters, challenging long-held traditions in the community.

According to his CBS bio, Paul Anthony Stewart joined the cast of "Guiding Light" on Nov. 11, 1998 in the role of Danny Santos, "a man with questionable motives in his search for his brother's killer." In 2003, he received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor.

Before that, he was best known to daytime audiences for his portrayal of Casey Bowman on "Loving."

Philadelphia native Stewart (whose last name at birth was Tomaccio) attended an acting program at Northwestern University, which convinced him to pursue the profession. After graduation, he headed for Princeton University, where he studied dramatic literature and drama, and minored in theatre. His starring roles in Princeton productions include Cloud Nine, The Day Room, Cymbeline, Bent and Fanshen.

In New York, he appeared in White Water and Risorgimento. His other New York theatre credits include Children of Eden, Until Day Breaks, Playing with Fire and Rivalry of Dolls.