Valerie Harper to Star in Golda's Balcony on the Road

Valerie Harper, not Patty Duke previously announced, will star in the national tour of William Gibson's Golda's Balcony. A production spokesperson could offer no reason for the casting switch.

Harper was still a teenager when she began dancing in the corps de ballet at Radio City Music Hall. She made her Broadway debut in 1958 in the chorus of Li'l Abner. Her other Broadway credits include Wildcat, Story Theatre, Metamorphosis, Something Different, Destiny Rides Again and The Tale of the Allergist's Wife. Despite her extensive list of theater credits, Harper is best known for playing Rhoda Morgenstern on television's The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda.

Golda's Balcony chronicles the legendary Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir's life--from the pogroms of Russia to the halls of the Knesset. The production, directed by Scott Schwartz, transferred to Broadway after an extended run at Manhattan Ensemble Theatre. It opened on October 15, 2003 at the Helen Hayes Theater and closed there on January 2, 2005. Tovah Feldshuh starred as Meir both on and off-Broadway and recently reprised her role in Los Angeles at the Wadsworth Theatre.

The national tour of Golda's Balcony, starring Harper, will begin in October in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.