Joanna Merlin (born July , ) is an American actor and casting director
who has worked with Stephen Sondheim and starred in the original
Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof. She has written two acting
guides and is a faculty member of New York University's graduate
acting program. In recent years, she has become known for her
recurring role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Judge Lena
Petrovsky.Joann Ratner, who later took her mother's maiden name, was
born in Chicago, Illinois, to Toni Merlin and Harry Ratner, a Jewish
grocer. Her family also included her older sister Harriet Glickman (-)
who would go on to gain recognition for having helped persuade Charles
Schulz to add a black character to his Peanuts strip. Merlin first
acted on stage at age , joining a community theatre production, Too
Many Marys. Merlin graduated from UCLA and later studied under Michael
Chekhov, learning his world-renowned acting technique. She has been
described as the last student of Michael Chekhov who is still alive
and teaching.Merlin made her first screen appearance in Cecil B.
DeMille's film The Ten Commandments in . Five years later, she made
her Broadway debut in Becket before playing Tzeitel in Harold Prince's
production of Fiddler on the Roof. She left the cast of Fiddler on the
Roof before the end of its tour to take care of her two small children
but Harold Prince gave her the opportunity to become involved in
casting with a more flexible schedule. Company was the first musical
for which Merlin served as the casting director. She was also in
charge of casting for such plays as Follies, Evita and Sweeney Todd.In
, she served as casting director for the John Carpenter film, Big
Trouble in Little China.
who has worked with Stephen Sondheim and starred in the original
Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof. She has written two acting
guides and is a faculty member of New York University's graduate
acting program. In recent years, she has become known for her
recurring role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Judge Lena
Petrovsky.Joann Ratner, who later took her mother's maiden name, was
born in Chicago, Illinois, to Toni Merlin and Harry Ratner, a Jewish
grocer. Her family also included her older sister Harriet Glickman (-)
who would go on to gain recognition for having helped persuade Charles
Schulz to add a black character to his Peanuts strip. Merlin first
acted on stage at age , joining a community theatre production, Too
Many Marys. Merlin graduated from UCLA and later studied under Michael
Chekhov, learning his world-renowned acting technique. She has been
described as the last student of Michael Chekhov who is still alive
and teaching.Merlin made her first screen appearance in Cecil B.
DeMille's film The Ten Commandments in . Five years later, she made
her Broadway debut in Becket before playing Tzeitel in Harold Prince's
production of Fiddler on the Roof. She left the cast of Fiddler on the
Roof before the end of its tour to take care of her two small children
but Harold Prince gave her the opportunity to become involved in
casting with a more flexible schedule. Company was the first musical
for which Merlin served as the casting director. She was also in
charge of casting for such plays as Follies, Evita and Sweeney Todd.In
, she served as casting director for the John Carpenter film, Big
Trouble in Little China.
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