Writers
Many of the most important Yiddish writers of all time turned at least a hand to playwriting. For some it was their primary focus, for others it played second fiddle to writing fiction, poetry, reportage, or in other genres. Yiddish drama runs the gamut from hastily written hack work to some of the greatest masterpieces of Yiddish literature, and of world drama.
December 17, 2015
Interview: Indecent Playwright Paula Vogel and Director Rebecca Taichman
Joel interviews Paula Vogel and Rebecca Taichman about the drama Indecent, which premiered at the Yale Repertory Theatre.
November 17, 2015
The Sholem Asch Festival: Poland Rediscovers a Yiddish Dramatist
Every two years around this time I visit the Polish town of Kutno, for the Jewish festival named after my great-grandfather, the Yiddish writer Sholem Asch. He was born there in 1880 in a single-story wooden house on one of the town’s main streets. Asch left Kutno as a teenager, having grown weary of his religious studies, […]
March 4, 2015
A Writer, a Painter, and Queen Esther
Purim reminds us that modern Yiddish theatre traces its lineage from the traditional folk drama genre known as the Purim-shpil.