Jews on Broadway: An Historical Survey of Performers, Playwrights, Composers, Lyricists and Producers Read Online Free PDF Page B
Author: Stewart F. Lane
Tags: Drama, United States, General, History, 20th Century, Theater, New York, New York (State), Performing Arts, Jewish, Jews in Popular Culture - United States, Theater - New York (State) - New York - History - 20th Century, Jewish Entertainers, Jews in Popular Culture, Jewish Entertainers - New York (State) - New York - History - 20th Century, Musicals - New York (State) - New York - History - 20th Century, Musicals, Broadway (New York; N.Y.), Jews in the Performing Arts, Jews in the Performing Arts - New York (State) - New York - History - 20th Century
missing an act, but always fresh out of the oven for opening night ... even if they didn’t always totally make sense. Plots, storylines and even lines of dialogue were often lifted from one play and dropped into another to finish a scene or make a smoother transition.
One of the most successful plays of the time, The Jewish Heart, in 1908, mixed comedy and drama into a relatable storyline to capture the hearts of the audience, making them cry and making them laugh. The Jewish Heart was not only a major hit, but it set the stage, literally, for another type of Yid dish play, the domestic drama. More practical and
“realistic” than the musi cal comedies, and easier to relate to then the classics, these plays touched upon Jewish culture. They were about working people, butchers, factory work ers, firefighters and seamstresses. They were about typical Jewish families and the desire of the younger generation to better assimilate into the American mainstream. They were about coming from the old country and missing relatives and customs they had left behind. They were about wed dings and celebrations, as well as sad-ness and tragedy. They played on the emotions of an audience that related to the storylines and identified with the characters.
As the new wave of immigrants that came to America from 1905
21
Jews on Broadway
through 1908 became more sophisticated and grew to seek more than just the “light” musical genre, Gordin’s writings and Adler’s performances would once again be in vogue as well as the domestic “slice of life” plays.
Pretty soon, all three types of plays would encapsulate Yiddish theater.
As for Goldfadn, the man who started it all, his reputation preceded him when he came to New York City in 1887. He was a folk hero. His songs were sung in Russian and Hungarian as well as in Yiddish. Despite great adoration by the masses, he remained poor, unable to build and sustain a successful company in London, Paris or New York City. By the time of his arrival in America, Yiddish theater, beginning with his play The Witch , had legs of its own and stars leading their own companies.
Goldfadn was unable to make a dent in the already established American medium that he had created in Europe over a decade earlier. His penchant for control and his steadfast ways were unwelcome among the new breed of performers, and before long he was on his way back to Europe, not to return until 1902, some two decades after the birth of Yiddish theater in America.
Not unlike a silent film star returning to the business in the era of
“talk ies,” Goldfadn was out of step with the changes in the genre. His efforts to get a company off the ground or a show produced were futile.
Finally, in 1907 he was able to convince Thomashefsky to produce his play Ben-Ami. The play was a success. Goldfadn died shortly after opening night. His funeral drew some 30,000 people to pay their respects to the father of Yiddish theater. Following his death, the play lasted for several months playing to sold out audiences. Years later, The Goldies would be established as awards given out by the Hebrew Actor’s Union in his honor to celebrate excellence in the theater.
Yiddish theater would continue to draw an audience, with several variations, including patriotic shows during World War I. In the 1920s an artistic form prevailed and there was, in essence, a second wave of popularity, which lasted into the late 1930s. As the second generation of immigrants became Americanized and the influx of new immigrants slowed considerably, Yiddish as a spoken language began to disappear.
The children of the early immigrants spoke English, and they were gravitating to vaudeville and to the stages of Broadway. Through the years, special projects, like that of Tilson Thomas, Thomashefsky’s grand son, as well as museums and numerous books, such as that of Nahma San -
22
1. Immigration, Yiddish Theater and Building Broadway drow, have chronicled the
One of the most successful plays of the time, The Jewish Heart, in 1908, mixed comedy and drama into a relatable storyline to capture the hearts of the audience, making them cry and making them laugh. The Jewish Heart was not only a major hit, but it set the stage, literally, for another type of Yid dish play, the domestic drama. More practical and
“realistic” than the musi cal comedies, and easier to relate to then the classics, these plays touched upon Jewish culture. They were about working people, butchers, factory work ers, firefighters and seamstresses. They were about typical Jewish families and the desire of the younger generation to better assimilate into the American mainstream. They were about coming from the old country and missing relatives and customs they had left behind. They were about wed dings and celebrations, as well as sad-ness and tragedy. They played on the emotions of an audience that related to the storylines and identified with the characters.
As the new wave of immigrants that came to America from 1905
21
Jews on Broadway
through 1908 became more sophisticated and grew to seek more than just the “light” musical genre, Gordin’s writings and Adler’s performances would once again be in vogue as well as the domestic “slice of life” plays.
Pretty soon, all three types of plays would encapsulate Yiddish theater.
As for Goldfadn, the man who started it all, his reputation preceded him when he came to New York City in 1887. He was a folk hero. His songs were sung in Russian and Hungarian as well as in Yiddish. Despite great adoration by the masses, he remained poor, unable to build and sustain a successful company in London, Paris or New York City. By the time of his arrival in America, Yiddish theater, beginning with his play The Witch , had legs of its own and stars leading their own companies.
Goldfadn was unable to make a dent in the already established American medium that he had created in Europe over a decade earlier. His penchant for control and his steadfast ways were unwelcome among the new breed of performers, and before long he was on his way back to Europe, not to return until 1902, some two decades after the birth of Yiddish theater in America.
Not unlike a silent film star returning to the business in the era of
“talk ies,” Goldfadn was out of step with the changes in the genre. His efforts to get a company off the ground or a show produced were futile.
Finally, in 1907 he was able to convince Thomashefsky to produce his play Ben-Ami. The play was a success. Goldfadn died shortly after opening night. His funeral drew some 30,000 people to pay their respects to the father of Yiddish theater. Following his death, the play lasted for several months playing to sold out audiences. Years later, The Goldies would be established as awards given out by the Hebrew Actor’s Union in his honor to celebrate excellence in the theater.
Yiddish theater would continue to draw an audience, with several variations, including patriotic shows during World War I. In the 1920s an artistic form prevailed and there was, in essence, a second wave of popularity, which lasted into the late 1930s. As the second generation of immigrants became Americanized and the influx of new immigrants slowed considerably, Yiddish as a spoken language began to disappear.
The children of the early immigrants spoke English, and they were gravitating to vaudeville and to the stages of Broadway. Through the years, special projects, like that of Tilson Thomas, Thomashefsky’s grand son, as well as museums and numerous books, such as that of Nahma San -
22
1. Immigration, Yiddish Theater and Building Broadway drow, have chronicled the
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