Emily Loesser Carries On Family Tradition in ‘Yiddle With Fiddle’

Talk about impeccable Broadway musical bloodlines. . . .

Her father is the late Frank Loesser, the famed composer of such classic musicals as “Where’s Charley?,� “Guys and Dolls,� “The Most Happy Fella� and “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.� Her mother is “Happy Fella� star, singer Jo Sullivan.

It seems only natural for Emily Loesser to carry on the family tradition. The pint-size dynamo currently is starring in the Westwood Playhouse musical “Yiddle With a Fiddle.� Set in 1936 Poland, Loesser plays a musician, who, disguised as a boy, takes to the road with her father to earn a living. Last year, Loesser originated the role of Yiddle off-Broadway to great acclaim.

Loesser grew up surrounded by the sound of music. “My mother made us take piano lessons, which now I am grateful for,� Loesser says, laughing. ‘My mother retired for 17 years after she had my sister and myself, then she started singing again. She was always practicing songs. She would give parties and would sing. One day, I will never forget, she gave this party and she made me sing. It was awful.�

But, she adds, “it was sort of fun.� So much fun, Loesser caught the performing bug. A graduate of Northwestern University, she’s starred off-Broadway in “The Diary of Anne Frank� and in the New York City Opera’s production of “The Sound of Music.� She and her mother also performed together in the off-Broadway revue, “Together Again for the First Time.�

There’s talk “Yiddle� might move to Broadway, but Loesser loves to talk more about her impending marriage to actor Don Stevenson. The two met while appearing together in the musical “The Secret Garden.�

“I’m getting married May 4 in New York,� Loesser says, giggling. “We have the place and everything. I have the dress. I feel like I should be doing more (preparations), but there isn’t any more to do.�