Impresarios
Working behind the scenes, the owners, managers, and proprietors of Yiddish theatres rarely get the attention paid to other personnel–though a number of noted actors worked both in front of the footlights and in the business office. The business of the Yiddish stage–its booms and busts, its contracts and receipts, is every bit as central to Yiddish theatre history as were the story lines and performances that happened when the curtain went up.
October 19, 2024
When Boris Met Mendele: An Episode from Thomashefsky’s 1913 European Tour
Forverts (Forward, New York), December 7 and 14, 1913 Translated by Zachary M. Baker Translator’s Introduction. The stars of the Yiddish theatre in its heyday spent a lot of time on the road—and at least two of them chronicled their overseas travels in the pages of the New York Forverts. Boris Thomashefsky’s account of his […]
April 29, 2024
Tsvishn Falndike Vent: An Interview With Avram Mlotek, Zalmen Mlotek, and Motl Didner
Last November, the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene opened its final production of 2023, a musical revue called Amid Falling Walls (Tsvishn Falndike Vent): Unveiling Resilience and Hope During the Holocaust. The production was curated and written by Avram Mlotek, with music curated and arranged by Zalmen Mlotek, and directed by Motl Didner. The Folksbiene’s website explains […]
August 4, 2022
The Yiddish Art Theatre Repertoire: Ten New Synopses for Plotting Yiddish Drama
The Yiddish Art Theatre in Plotting Yiddish Drama.
June 8, 2021
The Menashe Skulnik Story in the Forward
Menashe Skulnik (1892-1970) was one of the great comic actors of the Yiddish theatre, remembered for his trademark porkpie hat and beloved for his schlemiel-like stage persona.
November 11, 2020
Ven Moysh iz geforn: Maurice Schwartz on the Yiddish Theatre in Argentina in 1930 (Part II)
Part II of Maurice Schwartz’s travels to Argentina in 1930.
December 21, 2018
Why Does Muni Weisenfreund Play “Shund”?
The career of the young actor Muni Weisenfreund is noteworthy, practically legendary.