Adler had originally been cast as Tevye in the Muny production, but bowed out due to illness. The Broadway actor had a long association with the St. Louis venue. In fact, his first association with the theatre was playing Motel in a 1982 staging of Fiddler. He was subsequently seen there in productions of Oliver! and The Wizard of Oz (2006), Annie Get Your Gun and Beauty and the Beast (2005), Breakfast at Tiffany's and Guys and Dolls (2004), Crazy for You and Fiddler on the Roof (2003), How to Succeed... and The Fantasticks (2002), My Fair Lady and The Wizard of Oz (2001), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (2000), Anything Goes (1999), Crazy for You and Oklahoma! (1998), South Pacific (1997), Guys and Dolls (1996) and Where's Charley? (1982).
Directed by Gary John La Rosa, who will also re-create Jerome Robbins' original choreography, Fiddler will play the Muny Aug. 4-10.
The cast will feature Lewis J. Stadlen as Tevye, Leslie Denniston as Golde, Jennifer Lorae as Tzeitel, Kate Manning as Hodel, Jacqui Polk as Chava, Berklea Going as Shprintze, Tara Willey as Bielke, Barbara Minkus as Yente, Robb Sapp as Motel, Colin Donnell as Perchik, James Anthony as Lazar Wolf, Rich Pisarkiewicz as Mordcha, John Freimann as Rabbi, Etai BenShlomo as Mendel, Tracy Baker as Avram, Neal Frederiksen as Nachum, Zoe Vonder Haar as Grandma Tzeitel, Lora Lee Gayer and Alex Puette as Fruma-Sarah, John Contini as Constable, Mike McGowan as Fyedka, Zoe Vonder Haar as Shandel, Jane Pisarkiewicz as Bluma (solo gossip singer), Laura Ackermann as Mirala (solo gossip singer), Ian Joseph as The Fiddler, Lora Lee Gayer as Rivka, Ruth Pferdehirt as Fredel, Will Burton as Yussel, Ted Ely as Schloime, Nick Cosgrove as Chaim, Alex Puette as Boris, Justin Scott Brown as Sasha and Chris Crowthers as Yuri with Matthew Howard and Drew Redington as Yeshiva Boys and Justin Scott Brown, Will Burton, Ted Ely and Alex Puette as the Bottle Dancers. Chris Crowthers is the Dance Captain.
The ensemble will comprise Laura Ackermann, Tracy Baker, Etai BenShlomo, Justin Scott Brown, Will Burton, Nick Cosgrove, Chris Crowthers, Ted Ely, Neal Frederiksen, Lora Lee Gayer, Ian Joseph, Ruth Pferdehirt, Jane Pisarkiewicz, Rich Pisarkiewicz, Alex Puette and Zoe Vonder Haar.
The creative team will also include musical director Michael Horsley, scenic designer Steve Gilliam and lighting designer F. Mitchell Dana with costumes by Kansas City Costume. Joseph Schulte is the resident stage manager, Jim Semmelman the production stage manager, and Zoë Chapin the assistant stage manager. Fiddler on the Roof features a score by Sheldon Harnick (lyrics) and Jerry Bock (music) and a book by Joseph Stein and was co-created by its original director-choreographer Jerome Robbins. The musical concerns the lives of husband-and-wife Tevye and Golde, who are raising five daughters in the village of Anatevka, on the eve of the Russian revolution in the early twentieth century. Holding fast to their traditions, they find themselves bending as their three older daughters fall in love with a tailor, a revolutionary teacher and an outsider.
Fiddler originally opened Sept. 22, 1964, at the Imperial Theatre, won eight 1965 Tony Awards including Best Musical and played 7 previews and 3,242 regular performances. Zero Mostel and Maria Karnilova created the roles of Tevye and Golde. Fiddler spawned such songs as "If I Were a Rich Man," "Matchmaker, Matchmaker," "Sunrise, Sunset" and "To Life."
Four revivals of Fiddler have played Broadway — in 1976, 1981, 1990 and 1996. The 1971 film, with direction by Norman Jewison, featured Topol and Norma Crane.
For more information call (314) 361-1900, ext. 550 or visit www.muny.org.
