Performance Practives
January 16, 2019
Henry James: The Yiddish Stage in The American Scene
In late August 1904, Henry James returned to the United States after an absence of twenty years. Upon arrival in New York, he was overwhelmed by the first views of Manhattan and the “change of things” in his native city.
October 2, 2018
A Yiddish Poet, a Cuban Revolutionary, and a Historical Legend Walk Into a Bar: A Review of Hatuey: Memory of Fire
A brand-new opera, sung partially in Yiddish and partially in Spanish—and sometimes in both languages at the same time.
August 2, 2018
How Jewish Can One Fiddler Be?: Reflections on the Folksbiene’s Fidler afn dakh
DAVID LEARNED ABOUT the Yiddish production of Fiddler on the Roof from his husband’s non-Jewish aunt, who lives on the Upper West Side. Auntie Kay, as we call her, has the pulse on Jewish New York like no one else, even though she’s not Jewish. He then emailed his culture-maven colleague in New York, Rebecca Kobrin, to see […]
April 27, 2017
Scoring Indecent
Lisa Gutkin details the living and breathing aspect of music composition, what it means to strike the right tone, and how melodies appear, disappear, and reappear.
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.
October 26, 2015
Yiddish Lives, Smirks, and Breathes: Restoring Community Theatre into Yiddish History
Diving off of the raised proscenium stage, I don a fish mask and begin to swim through the audience. “Vu zaynen di fish?” (Where are the fish?).