Cast & Creative - Fiddler on the Roof

Joseph Stein

Book

Joseph Stein won the Tony Award and Drama Critics Circle Award for Fiddler on the Roof.

His other musicals include Zorba (Tony nomination, Drama Critics Circle Award); Rags (Tony nomination); The Baker’s Wife (Olivier Award nomination, London); Take Me Along (Tony nomination); Juno; Irene (starring Debbie Reynolds); The King of Hearts; All About Us; and Enter Laughing: The Musical (Lucille Lortel nomination, outstanding revival). He also co-authored, with Alan Jay Lerner, Carmelina; and with Will Glickman, Mr. Wonderful (starring Sammy Davis, Jr.), The Body Beautiful, and Plain and Fancy. His plays are Enter Laughing, Before the Dawn, and Mrs. Gibbons’ Boys.

Stein grew up in the Bronx and first became a social worker while pursuing writing on the side. He began his career in TV and radio, writing for The Sid Caesar Show, Your Show of Shows, Henry Morgan Show and many others, and for personalities including Tallulah Bankhead, Phil Silvers, Jackie Gleason and Zero Mostel. On Broadway he made his debut contributing to the theatrical revues Lend an Ear (featuring Carol Channing) and Alive and Kicking. He wrote the screenplays of Enter Laughing and Fiddler on the Roof, for which he won the Screen Writers Guild Award. In 2008, he was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame.

Jerry Bock

Music

Jerry Bock was born in New Haven, Connecticut on November 23rd, 1928. That was his first out-of-town try out.

Thirty years later, he and Sheldon Harnick gave birth to The Body Beautiful in Philadelphia. That was his fourth out-of-town try out. In between was Catch a Star, a fleeting revue that, according to critic Walter Kerr, posed the question; “What do you call something between a flop and a smash?” Kerr’s answer? “A flash”. Next, Jule Styne and Tommy Valano midwifed Bock, Larr Holofcener and George Weiss into birthing Mr. Wonderful starring Sammy Davis Jr. The title song and “Too Close For Comfort” are still active off springs.

Bock and Harnick’s celebrated collaboration yielded five scores in seven years. The Body Beautiful, Fiorello! (winner of Broadway’s triple crown: The Tony Award, The New York Critics’ Circle Award and The Pulitzer Prize in drama, the fourth musical to do so). Tenderloin, She Loves Me – (winner of Variety’s poll of critics as best musical, citing Bock and Harnick as best composer and lyricist). Fiddler on the Roof — (nine Tonys, notably the citation for best musical of the year), The Apple Tree and The Rothschilds.

In addition to the 1989 silver anniversary production of Fiddler (from which a major excerpt was featured in Jerome Robbins’ Broadway), a highly esteemed revival of The Rothschilds enjoyed a successful run off-Broadway the following year. Since then, Bock and Harnick were triply honored by being inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame, receiving the Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Spirit of American Creativity Award from the Foundation for a Creative America. But the “award” that Bock held near and dear was the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the University of Wisconsin. It was there that he met his wife Patti, and it was there that he decided to be a composer. Mr. Bock was a member of a number of professional guilds and associations, among which the BMI Foundation, Inc. was a membership he relished. As for Patti, his wife, George, their son and Portia, their daughter, Bock confessed they were his longest running hit. Jerry Bock passed away in 2010.

Stuart Burt CDG

Casting Director

Stuart is the recipient of 5 CDG Awards for best casting in theatre.

Credits include: Sunset Boulevard (Broadway/Savoy Theatre. Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival); Much Ado About Nothing, The Tempest (Theatre Royal Drury Lane); Standing at the Sky’s Edge (Gillian Lynne Theatre/National Theatre/Sheffield Theatres. Olivier Award for Best New Musical); Romeo and Juliet (Duke of York’s Theatre); Cabaret (Kit Kat Club/Playhouse Theatre. Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival); Sister Act (Dominion Theatre/Eventim Apollo/UK Tour); Little Shop of Horrors (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre); Muriel’s Wedding (Leicester Curve); Just For One Day (Old Vic/Toronto); Mrs Doubtfire (Shaftesbury Theatre/Manchester Opera House); Sylvia (Old Vic); The Seagull (Harold Pinter Theatre. Nominated for WhatsOnStage Award for Best Casting Direction); Chariots of Fire, White Christmas, Miss Saigon, She Loves Me, Guys and Dolls (Sheffield Crucible); Here You Come Again (Leeds Playhouse/Riverside Studios/UK Tour); The Outrun (Edinburgh International Festival); & Juliet (Shaftesbury Theatre/UK Tour); Cyrano de Bergerac (Playhouse Theatre/Theatre Royal Glasgow/BAM); The Drifters Girl (Garrick Theatre); Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (London Palladium/UK Tour/Toronto); East is East (National Theatre/Birmingham Rep); Betrayal (Harold Pinter Theatre/Broadway); Pinter at the Pinter (Harold Pinter Theatre); The Two Character Play (Hampstead Theatre); The Seagull, A Doll’s House (Lyric Hammersmith); The Rocky Horror Show (UK Tour/European Tour); The Madness of George III (Nottingham Playhouse); Doctor Faustus (Duke of York’s); The Maids, The Homecoming, The Hothouse, The Ruling Class, Richard III, Macbeth, The Spoils, Buried Child, The Pride (Trafalgar Studios); The End of Longing, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Playhouse Theatre).

Film & TV credits include: The Ashley Madison Affair (Hulu); Dance 100 (Netflix); Locked Up Abroad (National Geographic); Dr Seuss’ The Grinch Musical! (NBC/Sky); Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (Ballroom Dancer Casting. Warp Pictures).

Troy Sussman

Tevye

Training: National Theatre Drama School

Theatre credits include: Alternate Doc Brown Back to the Future (Crossroads Live) Sheldrake in Sunset Boulevard (GWB Australasian Tour), Martin & Others Candide (Victorian Opera), Standby in Bloom (Melbourne Theatre Company), Ignaz, Marcel & Others in Driftwood, Auctioneer, U/S Firman, Swing and Others in Phantom of the Opera (Original Australian and 2022 Opera Australia production), Babkak and U/S Genie U/S in Disney’s Aladdin (Australasia tour), Curveball in Who’s Your Baghdaddy, 25th Anniversary Concert of Jekyll & Hyde, Feuilly, Combfare, Jean Prouviere, U/S Val Jean and Thednardier in Les Misérables (Original and 10th Anniversary Australian productions and West End), Buddy Fidler/Irwin in City of Angels (Life Like Touring), Tobarro in La Cage Aux Folles (The Production Company), Lombardi in Passion (Life Like Touring), Protean and U/S Marcus Lycus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Melbourne Theatre Company), Samuel in The Pirates of Penzance (The Production Company),Von Hustler, U/S Admiral Boom and Park Keeper in Mary Poppins (Disney Theatrical Productions), Rusty Charlie, U/S Nathan, Nicely Nicely and Big Jule in Guys and Dolls (Donmar Warehouse and Australia), Mame (The Production Company), Herman in Sweet Charity (The Production Company), Kleiman in Mack and Mabel (The Production Company), Building Manager and Others, U/S 5 Roles in The Drowsy Chaperone (Melbourne Theatre Company), Prince, U/S Brit, Kashoggi and Pop in We Will Rock You (Louise Withers and Associates), Homer, U/S Clyde & Fiddel in The Witches of Eastwick (Jacobsen Ent), Tim in Noises Off (Ensemble Theatre), Gershwin in Jolson, Captain Shultz and U/S John in Miss Saigon (Cameron Mackintosh), The Bullfrog in Honk (SRT), Captain Able Coffin in Chang & Eng (Action Theatre Asia), Masterpiece: The Music of Andrew Lloyd (Really Useful Group), Fakir in The Secret Garden (Gordon Frost Organisation), Woof in Hair (EH&W), Chess, Slightly in Peter Pan (Gary Ginivan) The Artful Dodger in Oliver (Adelaide Festival Trust and Cameron Mackintosh).

Film and Television credits include: Fires, Love Me, Seabee in South Pacific, Soloist in Les Misérables at Windsor Castle (BBC), Forensic Investigation, Denise (Nine Network), Good Morning Australia (Network 10), Conkey in Saturdee (Seven Network). Troy can be heard on the Australian Cast Recordings and Soundtracks of Mary Poppins, Hair, the South Pacific TV Movie and Rob Guest’s Standing Ovation.

Sigrid Thornton

Yente

Theatre Credits Include: Mother Play (MTC), The Seagull (STC), The Lifespan of a Fact (STC), Fiddler on the Roof, The Effect (MTC), A Streetcar Named Desire (Black Swan), A Little Night Music (Opera Australia), Talking Heads: Her Big Chance, Betrayal (MTC), The Blue Room (MTC), Betrayal (MTC), Love Letters Special (Ballarat Regent Theatre).

Feature Film Credits Include: Slant, Scare Campaign, BFFs, Face to Face, Inspector Gadget II, The Pact, Love in Ambush, Whipping Boy, Over the Hill, Return to Snowy River, The Lighthorsemen, Slate, Wyn & Me, Best Enemies, Street Hero, Duet for Four, The Man from Snowy River, One More Minute, The Getting of Wisdom, The King of Two Day Wonder, The F.J. Holden.

Television Credits Include: Darby & Joan S2 (ABC/Acorn TV), Amazing Grace (Playmaker Media/Nine), SeaChange (ABC), Lambs of God (Lingo Productions/Foxtel), Orange Is the New Brown (Screentime), Wentworth (FremantleMedia Australia), The Code (Playmaker), Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door (Seven Network), #7DaysLater (ABC), Underbelly: The Golden Mile (Nine Network), Dream Life (Porchlight Films/MTV), Nightmares and Dreamscapes (TNT), Little Oberon (Nine Network), MDA (ABC), Love in Ambush (David Hannay Productions), Trapped in Space (Paramount), G.P. (ABC), The Feds (Nine Network), Paradise (CBS), The Far Country (Seven Network), Great Expectations: The Untold Story (ABC), The Comedy Company (Network Ten), All the Rivers Run (Seven Network), The Sullivans (Nine Network), Bellamy (Network Ten), I Can Jump Puddles (ABC), Outbreak of Love (ABC), Skyways (Seven Network), Players in the Gallery (ABC), Prisoner (Network Ten), Chopper Squad (Network Ten), Case for the Defence (Nine Network), Father, Dear Father in Australia (Seven Network), Glenview High (Seven Network), Cop Shop (Seven Network), Young Ramsay (Seven Network), Bobby Dazzler (Seven Network), Bellbird (ABC), Certain Women (ABC), Bluey (Seven Network), Matlock Police (Network Ten), Division 4 (Nine Network), Boy in the Bush (ABC), 1915 (ABC), Homicide (Seven Network), The Last Outlaw (Seven Network).

Christopher Tendai

Resident Choreographer & Swing

Training: The Urdang Academy – London UK

Theatre Credits Include: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Hayes Theatre), Personality: The Lloyd Price Musical (Southbank Centre), Cabaret (Kit Kat Club, Playhouse Theatre), Jekyll & Hyde (Cecil Sharp House), Carousel (Regents Park Theatre), Dick Whittington (National Theatre), Matilda the Musical (Cambridge Theatre), West Side Story (Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester), Hamilton (Victoria Palace Theatre), Jesus Christ Superstar (Regents Park Theatre & UK Tour), In The Heights (Kings Cross Theatre), Dirty Dancing (Secret Cinema), Damn Yankees (Clapham Theatre), Hairspray (Ireland Tour).

Television & Commercial Credits include: Blitz (Apple TV), The Greatest Dancer (BBC), Episodes (Channel 4), The Kingsman (20th Century Studios), Strictly Come Dancing (BBC), Brit Awards (ITV), Union J (UK Tour), Rita Ora (London), Hugh Jackman (London), Fleur East (Wimbledon Stadium), London Olympics.

Resident & Associate Credits: Associate Choreographer for All Is But Fantasy (The Royal Shakespeare Company), Associate Choreographer for Jesus Christ Superstar (Australian Tour), Resident Choreographer & Young Dance Supervisor for MJ The Musical (Prince Edward Theatre), Resident Choreographer for Jesus Christ Superstar (UK Tour).

Choreography Credits: Beauty & The Beast (They Storyhouse) A Tribute to DALIDA (Peacock Theatre), Soccerbible & Adidas (Documentary), AITOPIA (Young Vic Theatre), CAKE: The Marie Antoinette Musical (The Other Palace), Closer To Heaven (The Turbine Theatre), Wonderland in Alice (Theatre Peckham), Harry & Greta (New Wolsley Theatre), MODE (Elmhurst Ballet Company), RENT (Eve Lyon’s Studio Theatre), Carrie (Bernie Grants Arts Centre), Guap Gala (Natural History Museum), Wuthering Heights (Turbine Theatre), iNk’d (Pegasus Theatre), Bare: A Pop Opera (Eve Lyon’s Studio Theatre), Children of Eden (Union Theatre), IDENTITY (Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Piano Legends (UK Tour).

Christopher is extremely excited to be part of the Original Australian Company of Regents Park’s revival of Fiddler On The Roof.