Origins of the Modern Theater

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tyr 9scredo)whenagirltriestokisshim. IncreasinglyGoldfadnturnedtohistori- calmelodramas.Large-scale,miracle-Plled spectacle, purim-shpil writlarge,frames theactionintheseplays.Angelswield Peryswords,spiritsmaterializeamid cBengallights, dpilgrimscrowdthetem- plestepsinJerusalemandaweddingis celebratedinfrontofthealtar;thereare lions,battles,andmassacres.Nolessim- portantweretheeclecticmelodiesthat Goldfadnadaptedforhisplays.Asthe writerYankevDinezonpointedout,it waslessthecasethatGoldfadn 9ssongs werecomposedforthetheaterthanthat theentireYiddishtheaterwascreatedfor thesongs. Goldfadn 9slegacywasthecreationofa theatricaltradition.Fiftyyearsaftertheir debut,Goldfadn 9splayswerestillbeing stagedintheiroriginalversions;adirec- torwouldencounteroppositionevento anattempttomoveatablefromits ctradi- tional dlocation,whichhadattainedthe statusofwhatoneobservercalled caTo- rahfromSinai. dAlongwithhismelodies, Goldfadn 9scharacters 4lessindividuals thantypes 4movedbeyondthestageand intotheeverydayculturallexiconofsev- eralgenerationsofJews. ThenewYiddishtheateraudience 9sap- petitequicklyspawnednumerouscom- petingcompanies.Themostsuccessfulof thesewerethoseof cProfessor dMoyshe Hurvits(1844 31910),YoysefLateiner (1853 31935)andShomer(Nokhem MeyerShaykevitsh),whosplicedtogether plotsandmelodiesfarmoreefPciently thantheirnominalmasterGoldfadn.But in1883tsaristauthoritiesbegantore- strictthestagingofYiddishplays.This wasprobablydonelessforideological reasons,aslongbelieved,thanbecause policeauthoritiesweresimplyinconve- niencedbythenewtheaterandapplied thelong-standingRussianlegaltradition offorbiddingwhateverwasnotspeciP- callypermitted.Overthefollowingtwo decades,asYiddishactorsanddirectors emigratedfromEasternEuropealong withtheiraudiences,London,Paris,and aboveallNewYorkbecamecentersofthe newtheater. YetYiddishtheatersurvivedinEastern Europe.Travelingcompaniescontinued toperformtherepertoireofGoldfadnand hisAmericanepigonesinRomaniaand Galicia,whererestrictionswerelessse- verethanintheRussianEmpire.Yiddish companieswereperforminginKraków by1887.InLwówin1889,YankevBer Gimpel(1840 31906),aveteranchoral singerinthePolishmunicipaltheater, foundedaninstitutionuniqueinEastern Europe:apermanenttheaterthatman- agedtoperformaYiddishrepertoirecon- tinuouslyuntilWorldWarII.Butevenin Russia,Yiddishcompaniescontinuedto perform,bribinglocalofPcialsandplay- inginaGermanizedYiddish,alanguage, thatis,thatcouldpassforGermaninor- dertosatisfytheauthoritiesyetstillbe understoodbyJewishaudiences.These companiesincludedthoseofAvrom Fishzon(1843/48 31922),YankevSpiva- kovski(1852 31919),AbaKompanyeyets (1870 31946),andAvrom-Yitskhokand Ester-RokhlKaminski. Thiswasatheaterthatattractedmass Jewishaudiences,noisyanddemonstra- tive.Mixturesofcomedy,farce,and melodrama,performancesinvariablyin- cludedsinginganddancing.Stagedirec- torswereunknownandscriptswereirrel- evanttothesemiliterateperformers.The action,onprimitivestageswithsimple propsandbackdrops,wasconstructed aroundtheleadingactororactress.This Yiddishpopulartheater,aboutwhichwe stillknowverylittle,hasbeensubsumed undertheterm shund (trash)anddispar- agedbycriticsandhistoriansfornearlya century.YetthepoetItsikMangerde- scribedthistheaterasfollows: cWithout theater-studies,withoutactingacade- mies,theyplayed....Theyplayed 8by heart, 9anditwasgood,betterthangood. Itwasplayforthesakeofplay,theaterfor thesakeoftheater.Theyignoredthe 8texts, 9mockedthe 8authors. 9Instinctively theyfeltthattheywerefree,andintheir freedomoverturnedallthestupiditiesof the 8authors. 9Theyimprovisedfreelyon thestageandtheimprovisationswere Plledwithgrace d(Manger,1968,p.13). TowardaCanon AmidtheRussianRevolutionof1905to 1906,aneweradawnedforYiddishthe- aterandJewishcultureasawhole.Rus- sianrestrictionsonYiddishperformances weregraduallyrelaxedandtheYiddish dailypresswaslegalized.Amodernmass JewishculturewithitscapitalinWarsaw sprangintobeingvirtuallyovernight.By 1906therewerePveYiddishdailiesin Warsawwithacirculationofahundred THEATER:YiddishTheater 1863 S R L FemeiaDemonica (DemonicWoman),RomanianplaybillforanoperettabyYoysefLateiner, starringMordechaiSegalescuandIsidorGoldenberg,Bucharest,1899. (YIVO) thousand;circulationdoubledbytheend ofthedecade.SuddenlyonecouldPnd notonlynewsoftheworldinYiddish, buttheserializedworksoffavoritewriters aswellasYiddishtheaterschedulesand reviews.YiddishcompaniesQockedto WarsawandbegantoperformatPvedif- ferentlocationsincludingonetheater (Muranover/Ermitazh)builtespeciallyfor thatpurpose.In Ê ód ß in1905,Yitskhok Zandberg(1871 31915)establishedathe- aterwhereYiddishcompaniesperformed continuouslyuntil1914.Citiessuchas Vilna,Bia Ë ystok,andLublinbegantoen- joyregularlyscheduledtheater;smaller townswerevisitedbytravelingcompa- nies. Newspaperreadersandtheater-goers, traditionalandsecular,richandpoor,be- gantoconstituteanewkindofcommu- nity.Theyfounditincreasinglynaturalto thinkofthemselves,usingthediscourse ofmodernnationality,as dosyidishefolk (theJewishpeopleornation).TheJewish intelligentsia,manyofwhomhadsought hithertotohaveJewsassimilateintoPol- ishorRussianculture,increasingly cre- turnedtothepeople. dSpearheadingthis movementwasthewriter,activist,and cultureheroY.L.Peretz.ThenewJewish culture,proclaimedPeretz,mustrepre- senttheJewishpeople 9shighestaesthetic andmoralaspirations.ButwhenPeretz andhisdisciplesvisitedtheYiddishthe- ater,theywereaghast.Whattheysaw borenoresemblancetoEuropeantheater art.Manyofthetheaters,moreover,ap- pearedtohavehadconnectionstothe Jewishunderworld;pimpsandtheir womenwereacommonsightinthefront rows.Peretzdeclaredwaronthistheater; cAyngezunkenzolesvern! d(Maythe earthswallowitup!)heraged.Peretzand hisfollowersappliedtheterm shund, al- readyinuseasadesignationforpopular literature,tothistheater,andpreached thecreationofanewtheaterthatwould be cliterary, d cartistic, dand crePned. dTwo ofPeretz 9sfollowers,NoyekhPrilutski (NoahPry Ë ucki)andA.Mukdoyni,be- camethePrstYiddishtheatercriticsin Poland.Peretzalsobegantowriteforthe theater,butexistingtheatercompanies couldnothandlehisgreatestcreations, Digoldenekeyt (TheGoldenChain)and Baynakhtafnaltnmark (NightattheOld Marketplace),whichwerePrststaged onlyadecadeafterhisdeath. Preciselyatthismoment,atalentof hugeproportionsemergedfromtheranks oftheoldYiddishtheaterandbrieQy seemedcapableofcreatingthekindof theaterofwhichPeretzdreamed.Ester- RokhlKaminska,aseamstressfroman impoverishedshtetl,alongwithherhus- band,Avrom-YitskhokKaminski,hador- ganizedYiddishcompaniesthattoured theRussianEmpireinthe1890s.In1905 theyreturnedtoWarsawandamidthe newfreedomdiscoveredanewkindof repertoire.TheseweretheplaysofJacob Gordin(1853 31909)thathadbecomethe sensationoftheNewYorkYiddishthe- ater.Gordin 9smelodramas,thePrstat- temptontheYiddishstagetomirrorcon- temporarysocialreality,werePlledwith powerfulroles,especiallyforwomen.Es- ter-RokhlKaminskatookonasucces- sionofsuchroles,mostfamously,that ofMireleEfros,the cJewishQueenLear. d Theseperformancesledtoheradoration byhugeaudiencesforwhomshebecame the cmotheroftheYiddishtheater. d In1907,theplaywrightanddirec- torMarkArnshteyncollaboratedwith Avrom-YitskhokKaminskitofoundthe LiterarisheTrupe(LiteraryTroupe),which includedEster-RokhlKaminska.Witha repertoireofplaysbyGordinaswellas DovidPinski,SholemAleichem,and Arnshteyn,andevenatranslationofIb- sen 9s ADoll 9sHouse, thecompanytoured theRussianEmpire.In1908and1909it performedinSaintPetersburgandwasli- onizedintheRussianliberalpress,but thecompanyfellapartsoonafter.An- other cliterary dtroupeorganizedbyPerets Hirshbeynusingyoungamateurperform- erssubsequentlytouredtheRussianEm- pireforseveralyears,butwithlittlesuc- cess. DuringtheyearspriortoWorldWarI andevenafterit,Jewishmassaudiences continuedtoQocktotheolderYiddish repertoire,especiallyoftheAmericanva- riety.StarsoftheAmericanYiddishstage suchasBorisTomashevsky(1866 31939) andDavidKessler(1860 31920)beganto tourEasternEurope,apracticethatcon- tinuedintheinterwarperiodwiththead- ditionofnewstarssuchasMollyPicon (1898 31992).ButevenAvrom-Yitskhok Kaminski,inthenewtheaterhebuilton Obo Û naStreetinWarsawin1909,found thathecouldnotaffordtostage cliterary d theater.Inthemeantime,Y.L.Peretz, scorningthe ctainted dprofessionalYid- dishstage,began,likeHirshbeyn,towork withbetter-educatedyoungamateurs, intoxicatedwiththenewYiddishlitera- ture,topreparethewayforadifferent theater.Muchofthisactivityoccurred undertheaegisofthemusical-literaryso- cietyHazomir,foundedbyPeretzin1905, whichsetupbranchesthroughoutEast- ernEurope.Intheabsenceofactingstu- dios,suchgroupsservedastheschools thatproducedanewgenerationofper- formers. TheInterwarPeriod AfterWorldWarI,nolongerruledby multinationalempiresandnolongersub- ject,asinRussia,toahostofrestrictions, Jewsfoundthemselvescitizenseitherof modernnation-statesorofthenewlycre- atedSovietUnion.InPolandduringthe interwaryears,Yiddishcompanies,pro- fessionalandamateur,performedinmore than400citiesandtowns.InRomania, twoYiddishtheatersperformedinBucha- rest,twoinCern ç u í i(Czernowitz),and oneinIa ã i;numeroussmallercitiesand townsentertainedvisitingtroupes.Inthe SovietUnion,unprecedentedstatefund- ingsupportedanetworkofYiddishthe- aters. Evenbeforetheendofthewar,wher- everGermansorAustriansreplacedRus- sianauthorities,restrictionsonJewishlife wereeased.ThiswasthecaseinGerman- 1864 THEATER:YiddishTheater S R L MoteMelech. Romanianposter.Printedby Concuren í a,Bucharest,Romania,1907. PosteradvertisingaperformanceofaYiddish musicalstarringLouisHaymananddirected bySigmundMogulescu,intheJignitzaThe- ater. (YIVO) occupiedVilnain1916,whereagroupof idealisticyoungamateursreceivedper- missiontoperformtheaterprofessionally. Incontrasttothenormsofcontempo- raryYiddishtheaterwithits cstar dsystem, theyorganizedthemselvescooperatively andfavoredensembleperformances.The newcompany 9sproductionsofplaysby SholemAsch,SholemAleichem,Perets Hirshbeyn,DovidPinski,Y.L.Peretz,and otherswereacclaimedbytheJewishintel- ligentsia.In1917,mostofthecompany, nowknownastheVilnerTrupe(Vilna Troupe)relocatedtoWarsaw.There,on9 December1920,theyopenedaplaythat wastochangethecourseofYiddishthe- aterhistory:S.An-ski 9s Tsvishntsveyveltn: Derdibek (BetweenTwoWorlds:TheDyb- buk). Originallyintendedasanactofhom- agetoitsauthor,whohadjustdied,the VilnaTroupe 9s Dybbuk blazedanunex- pectedandastoundingpath:fromthe Warsawstagetothecitiesandtownsof EasternEurope,andthenintothereper- toiresofYiddishcompaniesthroughout theworld.Translatedintoadozenlan- guages,itbecametheaccreditedemis- saryofJewishtheaterarttotheworldat large.Crucialtothisdevelopmentwas theHebrewproductionbytheHabimah company,whichpremieredinMoscow in1922andwasthenperformedbyHa- bimahonnumerousworldtours.Hailed asaJewishmysteryplay (misterium) spun outofslow,solemn,ritualizedspeechand gestureand nigunim takenfromHasidic traditions, TheDybbuk inspiredanun- precedentedkindoffrenzy.Formore thanayear,richandpoor,secularandOr- thodox,assimilationistsandnationally mindedJews,aswellasgoodnumbersof Poles,streamedintotheElizeumTheater inWarsaw,inthewordsofonejournalist, ctositquietlytogetherandwatchthe stagewithbatedbreath. d With TheDybbuk, theVilnerTrupe fulPlledPeretz 9sdreamanddemonstrated thatYiddishtheaterwascapableofpro- ducingworld-classart.Thisexamplelaid thefoundationforthedevelopmentdur- ingtheinterwarperiodofaYiddish dramatictheaterofveryhighcaliber.In Polandtherewerecompaniessuchas theVarsheverYidisherKunst-teater(War- sawYiddishArtTheater;VYKT),founded byZygmuntTurkowandEster-Rokhl 9s daughterIdaKaminskain1924;the VarsheverNayerYidisherTeater(Warsaw NewYiddishTheater;VNYT),organized byJonasTurkowin1929;andYung-teater (YoungTheater),foundedbyMicha Ë Weichertin1932.TheVilnerTrupe,un- dersuchdirectorsasDovidHerman, YankevShternberg,andJakubRotbaum, touredwidelyinPolandandRomania. Atthesametime,asophisticatedYid- dishcabarettheater (kleynkunst) attracted aconsiderableaudience.InBucharestin 1917and1918,YankevShternbergstaged satiricalmusicalrevues (revistes) inhis owntheater.InWarsawtherewasAzazel, foundedin1926,followedbyArarat,es- tablishedbyMoysheBroderzonin Ê ód ß in1927.ItwasBroderzonwhodiscovered ShimenDziganandYisroelShumacher, whowentonfromArarattobecomethe mostcelebratedJewishcomedyteamin Poland. Puppetandmarionettetheaterdevel- opedaswell.LinkedtoPurimtraditions aswellastotheriseofEuropeanstreet puppetryinthelatterhalfofthenine- teenthcentury,Yiddishpuppetshowsin interwarPolandbecameasophisticated satiricalgenreshapedbyleadingwriters andartists.Better-knowncompaniesin- cludedSzopka Ú ydowska,whichstaged productionsinPolishaswellasinYiddish inKrakówin1920;Khad-gadye,begunby MoysheBroderzoninWarsawin1922; andMaydim,whichspecializedinleft- wingparodiesofpoliticalandsocialis- suesinVilnafrom1933to1941.Maydim andothercompaniesalsostagedchil- dren 9sproductions. Duringtheinterwarperioditbecame possiblefortheYiddish-speakingtheater- goertoseePnedramaticproductionsof Yiddishclassics,suchasPeretz 9scomplex cdreamplay d Baynakhtafnaltnmark, stagedbytheVilnaTroupein1928;mod- ernist cfolklorized dproductionsofGold- fadn(evenas ctraditional dversionscon- tinuedinthepopulartheaters);endless versionsof TheDybbuk andSholemAsch 9s Motkeganev (MotketheThief);andatthe sametimeplaysbyShakespeare,Hugo, O 9Neill,andDreiser,artisticallyonapar withanyinEurope.Thelattertendency wasincreasinglypreferredbydirectors, ifnotalwaysbyaudiences.Zygmunt Turkow,whoinsistedthatYiddishtheater mustleavetheJewishstreet,himselfdi- rectedandstarredinanacclaimedpro- ductionofMolière 9s L 9Avare (TheMiser). Turkowandotherdirectorsofthenew companies,aswellasmanyoftheactors, hadstudiedinPolish,Russian,orGerman dramaschoolsandwerethoroughlyat homeinmodernEuropeanculture. Despiteitsincreasingmaturity,there remainedsigniPcantdifferencesbetween Yiddishdramatictheateranditsnon- Jewishcounterparts.Firstofall,Yiddish theateroutsidetheSovietUnionshared inthepermanenteconomiccrisiscom- montoallYiddishculturalinstitutions. Withahandfulofexceptions,Yiddish theaterinPolandwasunabletoobtain fundingfromeitherstateorJewishcom- munalsources.Moreover,withtheexcep- tionoftheactingstudiosestablishedby Micha Ë WeichertinWarsaw(1922 31924, 1929 31933)andafewothershort-lived attempts,therewerenoYiddishacting schools.EveninWarsaw,despiteintermi- nableefforts,Yiddishdramaticcompa- niesnevermanagedtoacquiretheirown theaterandwereforcedtomovefrom onelocaletoanotheratthewhimofthe- ater-ownerswhofoundYiddishpopular theaterorPolishoperettasmoreproPt- able.Asaresult,Yiddishdramatictheater operatedonashoestring,itsdisorga- nized,discontinuousexistencepunctu- atedbyintensesoul-searching,recrimina- tions,andthecry ctoyevoye! d(chaos).In thewordsoftheactorAvromMorevski: cYiddishtheateroften...Qiesinto heaven,graspsatuniversalityandslips unavoidablybackdownbacktoitsown fourcubits....Toeatinordertocreateis torise.Yiddishtheateronthewhole plays inordertoeat. ...Andeveryattemptata higherconceptionisan experiment ( Liter- arishebleter 1[2January1931]). d Preciselybecauseithadsolittletolose, thistheatercouldoccasionallydevoteit- selftoexperimentswhichputitinthe THEATER:YiddishTheater 1865 S R L AniLitan(right)andanotheractorinascene fromaVYKT(WarsawYiddishArtTheater) performanceof Shulamis byAvromGoldfadn, Lwów,1937 31938.PhotographbyJ.Melner. (YIVO) vanguardofcontemporarytheaterart. OneexamplewasYung-teater 9s1933pro- ductionofBernhardBlume 9s Boston, a playaboutSaccoandVanzetti,theanar- chistswhoseAmericanmurdertrialhad becomeaninternationalcausecélèbre. Forcedtoworkinaverysmallspacethat precludedevenastage,Micha Ë Weichert producedsomethingunprecedented:ase- quenceof44briefscenesilluminatedby spotlights,separatedbyblackouts,staged oneverysideoftheseatedaudience.In- deed,Yung-teateritselfwasthekindof experimenttowhichMorevskialluded. FoundedbyWeichertPrstasatheaterstu- dioforidealisticyoungperformers,Yung- teaterspecializedinavant-garde,politi- callyradicalproductionsthatwerehailed inthePolishtheaterworldandincreas- inglycloseddownbythepolice. AseconddifferencebetweenYiddish andnon-Jewishtheaterwasthenatureof thecoreaudience.Incontrasttoother Europeantheaters,whoseaudiencewas drawnfromthemiddleandupperclasses, themainstayofYiddishtheaterinPoland continuedtobetheJewishworkingclass. Thisaudience,alongwithconspicuous representativesoftheJewishunderworld andthe cslumming dJewishintelligentsia, swarmedtothepopulartheaters.In1931, forexample,atatimewhenWarsaw 9s onlyYiddishdramaticcompanyhaddis- banded,Pvetheaterswerestaginga popularrepertoire.Yiddishtheateractiv- ists,includingtheleadershipoftheYid- dishActorsUnion,struggledtoeducate theiraudiencesandfoughtagainsttheat- rical shund. InthetraditionofPeretz, Micha Ë WeichertpresentedtheYiddish theaterasanintegralpartofastrugglefor national,social,andhumanliberation. AnimportantmodelforWeichertandhis colleagueswasPolishtheaterwhich, fromthetimeofAdamMickiewicztothat ofStanis Ë awWyspia á skiandstraight throughtotheinnovativedirectorsofthe interwarperiod,sawitselfasfulPllinga nationalmission. Thiscross-culturalinterestwasrecipro- catedtoadegree.Atatimewhentypical PolishattitudestotheJewishculture QourishinginPolandrangedfromin- differencetohostility,thecreatorsofPol- ishdramatictheater,forthemostpart cprogressive dartistswithleft-wingsym- pathies,provednotableexceptions. Throughouttheinterwarperiod,theyob- served,supported,andoccasionallycol- laboratedintheworkoftheirYiddish counterparts.Thus,forexample,inages- tureofPolish 3Jewishsolidarityontheeve ofWorldWarII,thePolishdirectorLeon Schiller(1887 31954)alongwithstagede- signerW Ë adys Ë awDaszewski(1902 31971) andchoreographerTacjannaWysocka (1894 31970),workedwithaYiddishcast thatincludedAvromMorevskiand ZipporahFaynzilber-Glikson(1913 3)to stageanacclaimedproductionofthepoet ArnZeitlin 9sYiddishversionofShake- speare 9s TheTempest. Bythe1930s,anaudiencesensitiveto theartisticintentionsofthe cbetter dYid- dishtheaterbegantoemergeinthenew generationofworking-andlower-middle- classyouth,agroupdrivenbyanintense hungerformoderncultureinanyform. AmericanYiddishactors,accustomedto youngpeopletakingtheirelderstothe boxofPceandannouncinginEnglish, cI 9mbringingmyparentstoyourtheater, d marveledattheyouth,enthusiasm,and knowledgeoftheYiddishtheateraudi- enceinPoland.Bythemid-1930s,inthe faceofacrisisinYiddishbookpublish- ing,libraries,andjournalism,anddespite aneconomicdepressionandthecompeti- tionofsoundPlms,thisaudienceenabled Yiddishdramatictheatertoscorenotable successes. Throughouttheinterwarperiod,travel- ingcompaniescontinuedtobringthe popularAmericanYiddishrepertoireto EastEuropeancitiesandtowns.Yeteven outsideWarsaw,Yiddishdramatictheater 1866 THEATER:YiddishTheater S R L MembersoftheVilnerTrupeperforming Grinefelder (GreenFields)byPeretsHirshbeyn,Riga,1928.PhotographbyEd.Krautz. (YIVO) helditsown.InKrakówandLwów,de- spiteconsiderablelinguisticassimiliation, thenationallymindedJewishintelligen- tsiawerestrongsupportersofYiddishdra- matictheater.InKraków,auniqueinsti- tution,acommunallyfundedYiddishart theater,wasfoundedin1926andper- formedfortwoseasons.InLwów,where EmilGimpel(1867 3194?)directedthe theaterestablishedbyhisfatheratthe endoftheprecedingcentury,adramatic repertoirewasintroducedinthe1930sby Emil 9sdaughter-in-lawMalvinaYoles- Gimpel(1900 3194?).InVilna,beginning withaYiddish EugeneOnegin in1922,Yid- dishoperawasperformedthroughoutthe interwarperiod;manyoftheperformers werestudentsandgraduatesoftheJewish MusicalInstitute,foundedinVilnain 1925.Jewishschools,laborunions,cul- turalsocieties,andpoliticalpartiesorga- nizedhundredsofamateurcompanies thatoftenstagedthe cbetter drepertoire. Theperformersweretypicallysmall-town artisansandshopkeepersbutincluded doctorsandlawyersinthelargercities; well-knownYiddishactorsanddirec- torssometimescollaboratedwiththese companiestofulPlla cnationalresponsi- bility. d TheSovietUnion IntheSovietUnion,Jewishcultureasa wholeandYiddishtheaterinparticular weretotallytransformed.Immediatelyaf- tertherevolution,theJewsweredeclared anationalitywithYiddishastheirna- tionallanguage.Asforothergroupsso deemed,theconsequencesweregovern- mentsupportforwriters,artists,andcul- turalinstitutionsworkinginthenational language.Beforetherevolution,Russian theater,particularlytheMoscowArtThe- aterunderKonstantinStanislavskii,had alreadyachievedinternationalrenown. Now,undertheleadershipofVsevelod Meyerholdandothers,theaterbecame crucialtotherevolutionaryproject,seen bytheBolsheviksasanartformcapable ofreachingmassaudienceswithapower- fulcollectiveexperience.Amidsuchde- velopmentsandanexplosionofthe avant-gardeinallrealmsofculture,vi- sionaryyoungJewishartistsbegantocre- ateanewYiddishtheater.Elsewheresuch peoplefoundithardtoeat,butintheSo- vietUniontheireffortswerestate-sup- ported.FortheseJewishartists,themis- sionPrstarticulatedbyY.L.Peretzof buildingaYiddishtheatertoserveasa cornerstoneforamodernJewishculture becameharnassedtoalargerrevolution- aryproject.Thestruggleagainst shund andfora cbetter dtheaterbecamecon- Qatedwiththestruggleagainstbourgeois valuesandforaproletarianculture. Bythe1930s,nearly20branchesofthe StateYiddishTheater(GOSET)existed intheSovietUnion,withmajortheaters inMoscow,Kharkov,Minsk,andinthe BirobidzhanAutonomousRegion,staffed bygraduatesofaStateYiddishTheater Schoolestablishedin1929.Thecrown ofthesecompaniesoriginatedoutofa groupofyoungtheateractivistsheaded byAleksandrGranovskiithatPrstassem- bledinSaintPetersburgjustbeforethe revolution.RelocatedtoMoscowin1920, theybecametheMoscowStateYiddish Theater.Granovskii,whohadstudiedin Germanyundertheavant-gardedirector MaxReinhardtbutknewnoYiddish, launchedhistheateronaseriesofspec- tacularproductionsofworksbySholem Aleichem,Peretz,andMendeleMoykher- Sforimfeaturingperformerstrainedin biomechanicsmovingamidelaborate constructivistsets.Amongtheseproduc- tionswasthePrststagingofPeretz 9s Bay nakhtafnaltnmark in1925.In1928,the companyembarkedonanine-monthEu- ropeantourwhichbroughtitwildac- claim.ButGranovskiiusedthisopportu- nitytodefecttotheWestandthetroupe returnedtoMoscowtofacearapidly changingpoliticalclimateunderanew director,SolomonMikhoels.Mikhoels, oftenconsideredthegreatestYiddish actorofalltime,hadperformedwith thecompanysinceitsbeginnings.Con- strainedtostagemorerealistictheater withclearpoliticalmessages,hewasable neverthelesstoshapeproductionsthat drewonhisowndeeplyrootedJewish sensibility.HestagedtheworkofSoviet YiddishwriterssuchasDovidBergelson andPeretsMarkishandcreatedacclaimed versionsofbothTevyeandLear. Bytheendofthe1930s,theaterhadbe- THEATER:YiddishTheater 1867 S R L PlaybilladvertisingaperformanceofthebytheM.KarpinowiczTroupeofthedoublefea- ture Yankele byJacobKalichand Kavkazerlibe (LoveintheCaucasus)byA.Frajman,Vilna, ca.1920s. (YIVO) comethemostpopularformofYiddish culturalactivityintheSovietUnion.This wasafunctionnotonlyofthequalityof theprofessionalYiddishstage,butalso becauseofthedevelopmentofafar-Qung networkofamateurtheatercompanies. Suchcompaniesstagedfrequent,often weekly,performancesforlocalaudiences. WhiletheaverageYiddishspeakermay haveattendedonlyoneortwoprofes- sionaltheaterperformancesinthecourse ofalifetime,thistheatergoingwassup- plementedbyatleast10amateurperfor- mancesayear.AsYiddishschoolsclosed inthe1930sandtheinstitutionaluseof Yiddishdeclined,theaterremainedthe onlyenvironmentwhereYiddishcontin- uedtobeusedpubliclyand cofPcially. d OrganizedbyJewishpoliticalparties immediatelyaftertherevolution,by1923 amateurYiddishtheatergroups,located infactories,clubs,libraries,collective farms,andYiddishschools,werePrmly underCommunistcontrol.AtPrstthe companiesprimarilystagedYiddishclas- sics,selectedbypartyactiviststohigh- lightcriticismofthetsaristpastandtradi- tionalJewishlife.Butsuchproductions couldbesubvertedonthelocallevel,as whenaplayaboutSholemAleichem 9s ne 9er-do-wellspeculatorMenakhemMendl suggestedaparallelbetweenSovietand tsaristbureaucrats.Moreover,justthe presenceofacharactersuchasGoldfadn 9s KuniLemlinaplayperformedand watchedbyfriendsandneighborshad thepotentialtoreinforcetheverybonds theCommunistsweretryingtodissolve. Forsmall-townSovietJews,intheab- senceofothermeansofafPrmingtheir Jewishness,suchplaysheldanalmostsa- credmeaning.Thecompaniesdeveloped othergenresaswell,amongthem cliving newspapers d(tableauxdepictingcurrent events);parodiesskeweringJewishholi- daysandrituals;andtheatricaltrialsof Jewishcustoms,politicalandreligious movements,literaryworks,andindividu- als.Theatricaltrialsoflocalindividuals, whichsometimesincludedrealpunish- ments,intentionallyblurredthelinesbe- tweentheaterandrealityandsetthe stageforStalin 9sterribleshowtrialsto come. WiththeGermaninvasionoftheSo- vietUnion,theMoscowStateYiddish TheaterwasevacuatedtoTashkent.Mi- khoel 9sstandingandtheprestigeofYid- dishtheaterasawholeledStalintoap- pointhimchairoftheJewishAnti-Fascist Committee,whichorganizedsupportfor theSovietUnionabroad.Butsoonafter thewar,Stalinembarkedupontheliqui- dationofSovietYiddishculturealong withitscreators.In1948,Mikhoelswas murdered.Overthefollowingseveral yearsmanyotherJewishwritersandart- istswerearrestedandkilledandmost Jewishculturalinstitutions,includingthe stateYiddishtheaters,wereclosed. TheHolocaustandAfter WorldWarIIandtheHolocaustputan endtothecenturies-oldJewishciviliza- tionofEasternEuropeinallitsdiver- sity.Jewishtheaterwasnoexception;the overwhelmingmajorityofitscreators andaudiencesweremurderedbytheNa- zis.ButJewishtheatercontinued,aston- ishingly,evenamidthedestructionand alsomanagedakindofafterlifeinpost- warPolandandRomania. InWarsawshortlyaftertheGermanin- vasion,performancesofvariouskinds quicklyrevivedand,indeed,Qourished. Informalplays,concerts,andreadings wereheldinprivatehomesandwere sooncoordinatedthroughthenetwork ofhousecommitteesthatalsoransoup kitchensandothercommunalservices. Suchperformanceswerescheduled,par- ticularlyonFridaysandSaturdays,in nearlyeveryJewishcourtyardinWarsaw; performancesbyandforchildrenwere frequent.Atthesametimelargenumbers ofcafésandnightclubssprangupthatca- teredtoadifferentaudience,the nou- veauxriches ofsmugglers,informers,and Jewishpolice.Mostoftheseestablish- mentsofferedmusicalentertainment. Soonaftertheghettowascreatedin November1940,apparentlyaspartof theirplanto cstabilize dandexploititeco- nomically,theNazispermittedJewish theaterstoopen.Bytheendof1941,Pve professionaltheatersperformed.Tickets wereinexpensive;inthewinterof1942, sixticketscouldbehadforthepriceofa loafofbread.Thetheatersprovedpopular amongapopulationstarvingnotjustfor food,butalsoforabitofdistractionfrom thehorroroftheeveryday.Theyalsopro- videdworkforseveralhundredYiddish actorsaswellasPolishactorsofJewishor- igin,someverywellknown,whohad beenherdedintotheghetto.Conditions inthetheatersweredifPcult.Theaudi- encesatintheircoatswhileonthestage décolletéedactressesshiveredwithcold. ThreeofthetheatersperformedinYid- dish,primarilyAmericanYiddishoperet- tasbutalsosomedramatictheater.Jonas Turkowandhiswife,thesingerDiana Blumenfeld,wereespeciallyactiveinthe latterproductions. Inthe Ê ód ß ghetto,underthedictato- rialruleofKhayimRumkowski,oneYid- dishtheaterwaspermittedtoopen.This wastheAvangard,whichfrom1940to 1943performeda kleynkunst repertoire severaltimesaweekunderthedirection ofMoyshePulaver,amainstayofthepre- war Ê ód ß cabaretArarat.Justintheperiod MarchtoDecember1941,some70,000 peopleattendedperformances.Aslateas January1944,Pulaverorganizedatheater fortheghetto 9ssurvivingchildren. ThePrsttheaterperformancesinthe Vilnaghetto,inJanuary1942,werepre- cededbyabitterpolemicclimaxedbythe appearanceofleaQetswiththeslogan, cOyfabesoylemshpiltmennitkeyn teater d(Youdon 9tplaytheaterinaceme- tery).TensofthousandsofVilnaJewshad beenmurderedinthenearbyPonaryFor- estovertheprevioussixmonths.Never- theless,theaterandawiderangeofcul- turaleventsoverseenbyJewishghetto leaderJakubGenssoonbecamewidely popular.InthetypicalmonthofOctober 1942,therewereregularperformances oftwofull-scaledramas,twosymphonic concerts,twoconcertsbytheYiddish chorusandonebytheHebrewchorus. Therewasalsoacabarettheaterinthe ghettoaswellasspecialperformancesor- ganizedforworkersandyouth.School childrentoostagedtheater,oftendirected byMiraBernstein,the cLererinMire d (TeacherMira)memorializedinacele- bratedpoembyAvromSutzkever.There wasevenaHebrewactors 9studio. IntheghettoofTerezín(Theriesen- stadt),theNazis 9 cmodelJewishcity din Czechoslovakia,agroupofPneJewish artistsdeportedfromCentralandWest- ernEuropecreatedextraordinaryGer- man-languagetheatricalandmusicalpro- gramsfrom1941to1944. TheNazisdidnotpermittheaterinany otherghettos,butconcertsandchildren 9s performanceswereorganizedinsuchcit- iesasCz × stochowa,Piotrków,Kraków, Radom,andKovno.AnamateurYiddish companystagedperformancesinthe cleansingroomoftheJewishcemeteryin W Ë oc Ë awek.InRomania,wherethefascist governmentofGeneralIonAntonescure- sisteddirectNazirule,Jewswerepermit- tedtoperformonlyinRomanianand forotherJews.TheexceptionwasYiddish performancesorganizedinsynagogues undertheguiseofliturgy. Yiddishactorsandsingersmanagedto performinthebarracksofvariouscon- centrationcamps,includingAuschwitz. RomanianYiddishactors,deportedto 1868 THEATER:YiddishTheater S R L campsinTransnistria,apartofUkraine thattheRomanianshadseizedfromthe SovietUnion,performedconcerts,gave readings,andoccasionallystagedaYid- dishplay.InfourcampsinCz × stochowa thatproducedarmamentsfortheGer- manPrmHasagandwererunbythe Wehrmachtconsiderablymorebecame possible;inoneofthecampsabarrack wasturnedintoanactualtheaterwith stage,curtain,andlightswhereYiddish playswereperformed;thePrstplay stagedwasGoldfadn 9s TheTwoKuni Lemls. ThetheaterfunctioneduntiltheSS replacedtheWehrmachtattheendof 1944. Withtheendofthewar,Jewishsurvi- vorsbegantoreturntoPoland,primarily fromtheSovietUnion.In1944,withthe RedArmystillPghtingGermanforces throughoutPoland,JonasTurkowandDi- anaBlumenfeld, clikeNoah 9sdovereturn- ingwithtidings, dinthewordsofthe criticShloymeBelis-Legis,stagedacon- certofYiddishsongsinliberatedLublin. InBergenBelsendaysafterliberationa Yiddishtheatercompanywasformed thatbegantotourothercampsandhos- pitals. InPolandby1946,Yiddishtheaters wereperforminginWroc Ë awand Ê ód ß . Theiractivitywasinvigoratedbythear- rivalofIdaKaminskafromtheSoviet Unionattheendofthatyearandthere- turnofJakubRotbaumfromtheUnited Statesin1949.In1950thetwocompa- nieswerenationalized,renamedtheEs- ter-RokhlKaminskaStateYiddishThe- ater,andplacedunderthedirectionofIda Kaminska.In1955thetheatermovedto Warsaw.Thecompanytouredwidelyand KaminskabecameareveredPgureinPol- ishJewishcommunitiesthroughoutthe world.In1968,amidanantisemiticcam- paignmountedbythePolishgovern- ment,Kaminskaandmuchofthecom- panyemigrated.ButtheStateYiddish Theaterhascontinued,directedsince 1970bySzymonSzurmiej.AStateYid- dishTheaterwasalsoestablishedinBu- charestin1948.Itcontinuestoperforma repertoireofYiddishclassicsandmaster- piecesofworldtheater.Since1989itsdi- rectorhasbeenHarryEliad.BoththePol- ishandtheRomanianYiddishtheaters servedfordecadestoshowcasetheac- complishmentsoftheJewish cnational minority dundercommunism.Yetboth theatershavesurvivedthefallofcommu- nismandcontinuetoattractalocaland internationalaudience,mostofwhom availthemselvesofsimultaneoustransla- tionintomoreaccessiblelanguagesvia headphones. [ Seealso Badkhonim;Dybbuk,The; Habimah;Kleynkunst;MoscowStateYid- dishTheater;Operetta;PolishStateYid- dishTheater;RomanianStateYiddish Theater;SovietStateYiddishTheaters; VilnerTrupe;WarsawYiddishArtThe- ater;YiddishActorsUnion;Yung-teater; andthebiographiesoftheprincipal@gures mentioned. ] " MordechaiAltshuler,ed., Ha-Te 9atronha- yehudibi-Veritha-Mo 8atsot:Me Õ karim, 8iyunim, te 8udot (Jerusalem,1996);NahumAuslaender (NokhemOyslender), Yidisherteater,1887 3 1917 (Moscow,1940);JohnKlier, c 8Exit,Pur- suedbyaBear 9:RussianAdministratorsand theBanonYiddishTheaterinImperialRus- sia, din YiddishTheatre:NewApproaches, ed.JoelBerkowitz,pp.159 3174(Oxford, 2003);BohdanKorzeniewskiandZbigniew Raszewski,eds., Pami × tnikteatralny 41.1 34 (161 3164)(1992),specialissueonYiddish TheaterinPolanduntil1939;Anna Kuligowska-KorzeniewskaandMa Ë gorzata Leyko,eds., Teatr Û ydowskiwPolsce ( Ê ód ß ,Pol., 1998);Ma Ë gorzataLeyko,ed., Ê ódzkiesceny Û ydowskie ( Ê ód ß ,Pol.,2000);ItsikManger, JonasTurkow,andMoyshePerenson,eds., YidisherteaterinEyropetsvishnbeydevelt- milkhomes, vol.1, Poyln (NewYork,1968);Jan MichalikandEugeniaProkop-Janiec,eds., Teatr Û ydowskiwKrakowie (Kraków,1995); NahmaSandrow, VagabondStars:AWorldHis- toryofYiddishTheater (NewYork,1977);Jacob Shatzky,ed. Arkhivfardergeshikhtefunyidishn teaterundrame, vol.1(VilnaandNewYork, 1930);ChoneShmeruk, Peretsesyiesh-vizye (NewYork,1971);AnnaShternshis, cAmateur LocalYiddishTheaters, din SovietandKosher: JewishPopularCultureintheSovietUnion, 1923 31939, pp.70 3105(Bloomington,Ind., 2006);MichaelC.Steinlauf, cFearofPurim: Y.L.PeretzandtheCanonizationofYiddish Theater, d JewishSocialStudies 1.3(1995):44 3 65;MichaelC.Steinlauf, c 8Fardibekt! 9:An- sky 9sPolishLegacy, din TheWorldsofS.An-sky: ARussianJewishIntellectualattheTurnof theCentury, ed.GabriellaSafranandSteven Zipperstein(Stanford,Calif.,2006),pp.232 3 251;MarekWaszkiel, cZdziejów Û ydowskiego teatrulalekwPolsce, din Pami × tnikteatralny 44.1 32(1995):293 3303;ZalmenZylbercweig (Zilbertsvayg), Leksikonfunyidishnteater, 6 vols.(NewYork,Warsaw,andMexicoCity, 1931 31969). 4MichaelC.Steinlauf PolishTheater PartofthePolishlandscape 4bothreal andimagined 4forcenturies,thePgureof theJewisalsorootedinthehistoryof Polishtheater.The Û ydek (littleJew),aPg- uretypicallyassociatedwithlaughterand entertainment,appearsthroughoutPol- ishfolktheater.Withgrotesquephysiog- nomy,dressedinanexaggeratedversion oftraditionalJewishattire,oftenwitha hump,the Û ydek gesticulates,shouts, wailsoverthewrongsdonetohim,and dancesandsings.Inthetheatricalinter- ludes,monologues,farces,andsketches ofthePolishgentryasearlyasthesix- teenthcentury,the Û ydek isalsocommon. ThisstagetraditionQoweredinthenine- teenthcenturywhenmanycelebrated Polishcomicactorswereskilledpurvey- orsofthe Û ydek. Thetraditionalsodevel- opedspecialists,foremostamongthem Aleksander Ê adnowski(1815 31891),whose BerekKugelmanwascalled ctheper- soniPcationofpersecutedinnocence d (Prokopówna,1998,p.133).Bytheend ofthecentury,the Û ydek, singingcou- pletsinamixtureofbrokenPolishand stylizedYiddish(acombinationknown as Û yd Ë aczenie )andperformingaJewish danceknownas majufes, wasaPxture ofthepopularPolishstage,recognizable evenwhentransformed,intheplaysof FeliksSchober(Szober,1846 31879),into thePgureofJózioGrojseszyk,anurban dandyprivytoallthegood-timesecrets ofthemoderncity. Beginningatmid-century,thePgureof theJewalsobegantobeassociatedwith thetransformationofafeudalintoa moneyeconomy.Jewish(aswellasGer- man)bankersandindustrialistswereper- ceivedbyPoles,oftenbitterly,ascatalysts inthisprocess.InJózefKorzeniowski 9s play Ú ydzi (TheJews;1843),theJewsare morehonorablethantheunscrupulous landownerstheyserve;thePolishland- ownersaremore cJewish dthanthereal Jews.Inthesubsequentperiod,inthe bourgeoisdramasofplaywrightssuchas ZygmuntSarnecki(1837 31922),Edward Lubowski(1837 31923),andKazimierz Zalewski(1849 31919),theJewissome- timesseeninapositivelightbutmoreof- tenistheagentofcorruption.Thiswas evenmorethecaseonthepopularstage whereinStanis Ë awDobrza á ski 9s Z Ë oty cielec (TheGoldenCalf;1881),forexam- ple,Jewsarerepulsivestockmarketma- nipulators,whileinW Ë adys Ë awLudwik Anczyc 9s Emigracjach Ë opska (PeasantEmi- gration;1876)andLeopold Ò widerski 9s Ojcowizna (Fatherland;1881),Jewsare heartlessexploitersofpeasants. Inothergenres,thestageJewwasnot alwaysnegative.Jewsappearedinplays withbiblicalthemes;thenobleEsther wasparticularlypopular.Indramaticad- aptationsofpositivistworkssuchasEliza Orzeszkowa 9s MeirEzofowicz, theJewwho THEATER:PolishTheater 1869 S R L

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