He fills the suitcoat of John Cariani, Tony Award-nominated in 2004 for his loose-limbed portrayal of Motel Kamzoil at the Minskoff Theatre. Cariani left March 13 to join the Off-Broadway company of Modern Orthodox. Understudies will go on in the meantime.

Smith, whose credits also include Rent and Mamma Mia!, is expected to stick with Fiddler until mid-May.

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A production spokesman previously confirmed that Harvey Fierstein and Andrea Martin have extended their contracts (respectively, they play Tevye and Golde) into mid-August at the Minskoff Theatre.

The new leads in the David Leveaux staging got solid reviews and good word of mouth in recent weeks, boosting the box office. Fierstein and Martin replaced Alfred Molina and Randy Graff Jan. 4.

This new production of the Joseph Stein-Jerome Bock Sheldon Harnick musical opened Feb. 26, 2004, and is produced by James L. Nederlander, Stewart F. Lane/Bonnie Comley, Harbor Entertainment, Terry Allen Kramer, Bob Boyett/Lawrence Horowitz and Clear Channel Entertainment.