Show World (June 1907)

THE SHOW WORLD June 29, 1907, YIDDISH DRAMA IN UNITED STATES T HE history of the Yiddish drama in the United States is replete with examples of painstaking toil, , bitter disappointment and bril¬ liant achievement. Founded here in 1880, the Yiddish stage has risen to a high place in the field of amuse¬ ments in this country. Supplied with plays of remarkable merit, the works of Gordin, Goldfarden, Thomashefsiky and others of lesser note, the Yiddish drama has developed many players of marked genius whose rise to international fame has been ar¬ rested only because of their reluc¬ tance to master the English language. Such players who did learn to speak and act in English, however, notably Bertha Kalich, now stands in the front rank' of the exponents of the higher dramatic art and are reaping the bene¬ fits therefrom. The Yiddish drama in the United States had its birth in a hall in New York in 1880, when Abraham Gold- farden’s drama, “The Witch,” was produced by Boris Thomashefsky, the latter playing the leading part, that of a woman. It was an humble be¬ ginning, and there were numerous predictions that the Yiddish venture inevitably must fail, but since that time there have been successfully es¬ tablished no less than ten permanent Yiddish stock theaters, all of which are prosperous. Five of these play¬ houses are located in New York and one each in Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, and Cleveland. Plans now are formulating for the establishment of Yiddish companies in Pittsburg, San Francisco and St. Louis. Jewish Actors are Artistic. The stock system in vogue at the Jewish theaters has been the means of developing numerous actors of re¬ markable power. The Jew is tem¬ peramentally a capital actor. He has the faculty of so skillfully merging his own personality and character¬ istics into that of the creation that engages his attention as to deceive all alike. In no two parts is he the same man apparently; but each is a distinct character, vibrant with life and pulsating with true art. The player’s identity is lost in the char¬ acter he portrays and his manner¬ isms vanish as by magic under the spell of his genius. Where, on any stage, are there more consummate artists than Jacob Adler, Ellis F. Glickman, Elias Roth- stein, Boris Thomashefsky, K. Juve- lier, Jacob Frank, Mme. Lipzin, Mme. Regina Prager, Mme. Thomashefsky, or Bertha Kalich? With the excep¬ tion of the last named these players now are the flower of the Yiddish stage and equally versatile in the fields of tragedy, comedy and oper¬ etta, they are to Jewish theatergoers what Mansfield, Mantell, Skinner, Sothern, Marlowe, Walsh, Adams and Bates are to the patrons of the Eng¬ lish stage. It was in 1883 when the first Yid¬ dish company of players arrived in New York from Europe. This aggre¬ gation was headed by Silvermann, Karp, Mme. Chaimowitch and Mme. Karp, and their success was so em¬ phatic that they played for three years in the Bowery Garden, almost without interruption. Mme. Chaimo¬ witch, who is in private life, Mrs. Jacob Adler, won distinction as one of the strongest emotional actresses on the Yiddish stage and Mme. Karp, a woman of marked talent, also be¬ came renowned as an artist of supe¬ rior ability. Notable Yiddish Dramatist. In 1887, a second company arrived from Roumania. This was headed by David Kessler, now under Lieb- ler’s management, Sigmund Fein- mann, Sigmund Mogulesco and oth¬ ers. These capable actors .at once Founded Thirty Years Ago, It Has Developed Artists of Marked Power and Playwrights of Wondrous Ability An Important Branch of Amusement. BY CHARLES ULRICH entrenched themselves in popular fa- however, for with each production cf vor and the success with which they high class, the Yiddish taste for the met, gave a powerful impetus to the best grew more acute so that today development of the Yiddish drama mediocre plays will not be tolerated and operetta in this country. New by Jewish audiences. Glickman and Thomashefsky as mem¬ bers of his company. After playing a short engagement at the Bijou the¬ ater, the Yiddish actors repaired ft the Standard theater on the west side, where they appeared in Queen Es¬ ther, Shulamis, The Greenhorns aw other standard plays. Their appear¬ ance created a furore and so eager were the Jewish theatergoers to wit¬ ness these performances that vast crowds nightly paid $2 for standing room. From that time, the Yiddish drama became a recognized institu¬ tion in Chicago. Glickman’s Rise to Fame. -I Ellis F. Glickman, one of the great* est actors on the Yiddish stage, was born at Zsitomir, Russia, in 1869. He began to study acting with Jacob Adler in London in 1887 and after suf¬ fering numerous bitter disappoi® ments, came to the United States jjj the following year. He made his American debut as a star at Troy, N. Y., in Goldfarden’s comedy, Kuni- Lemels. This was followed by an eastern tour and in 1890 he first ap¬ peared in Chicago. He was received with marked favor and his exquisite art lifted him to a high place in the affections of his Jewish audiences.® The first Yiddish stock company organized in Chicago was establish® by Glickman in Metropolitan hail at Jefferson and O’Brien streets, ■ 1894. After two seasons at this house, he went to the more commo# ious Lyceum theater where he re¬ mained until 1903, when he toured the country with great success. He was in San Francisco at the time Of the great catastrophe of 1906, and his extensive wardrobe, valued ® many thousands of dollars, was <8- stroyed. He then returned plays capable of the best artistic in¬ terpretation were necessary and the man of the hour was Jacob Gordin, probably the most noted of Yiddish playwrights. A classical scholar, pos¬ sessed of wide learning, delicate lit¬ erary taste and the power to express himself tersely—a man of ideas and the skill to drive them home, Gordin wrote classic after classic until now he is termed the Shakespeare of the Yiddish - drama. His first play, Si- beria. was so exalted, so far above the.heads of his auditors of that pe¬ riod, -ak to excite ridicule and pro¬ voke the prediction that plays based upon the high Gordin standard never could succeed. The prophecy failed Jewish King Lear Strong Play. Gordin’s most celebrated play, The Jewish King Lear, a modernization of Shakespeare’s great work, was written in 1891. Jacob Adler was first seen in the title part, but the honors of its artistic interpretation later were shared by Elias F. Glick¬ man, now manager of the Interna¬ tional theater in Chicago. This pro¬ found play, filled with situations of remarkable strength and its charac¬ ters drawn with wondrous skill, promises to live for many generations to come. Jacob Adler was first seen in Sam T. Jack’s theater, Chicago, in 1888, but two years later he returned with cago with his company and secured a lease of the International theater, where last season his record was marked by numerous notable artistic achievements. Glickman is a strong actor and whether he essay comedy or tragedy, he is the thorough artist to the core. Many ShakespearM scholars pronounce his concept® and portrayal of the character ’w Shylock as being without a peer ® any stage. Notable Yiddish Players. ] Aside from Adler and Glickman, there are other artists of note db the Yiddish stage. Boris Thoinashef- sky, who after a long absence ap¬ peared at the International theater here early in June, is one of the best of Yiddish players. He is man ager of the People’s theater in New York and finds time when not acting or managing, to write meritorious plays which he produces with a fidel¬ ity to details not surpassed even by Belasco himself. His wife, Mme. Thomashefsky, is one of the best soubrettes in New York and is prime favorite with the audiences that nightly throng her husban® playhouse. Thomashefsky was the first Yiddish actor to play Shakes- perian roles in his native tongue am his Hamlet is said to be a remark¬ ably fine artistic effort. The history of Bertha Kalich, who now is a star under the managem# of Harrison Gray Fiske, is well known. It was her work in the Kreutzer Sonata, written by Gordin, that first attracted attention to her marvellous talents as an actress. Another actress of remarkable emo¬ tional power is Mme. K. Lipzin, w® is manager of the Thalia theater f New York. Mme. Regina Prager, known as the Patti of the Yiddish stage, is remarkably versatile, J her forte is emotional work in cm etta. Elias Rothstein is a trageefl of force and ability who stands hta in the estimation of Jewish audiences K. Juvelier, of New York, probably is the best known leading man on the Yiddish stage, while Jacob Frank manager of the Baltimore theater, * mittedly is the best comedian in He wide range of the Yiddish drama.I