Yiddish Theatre District

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Yiddish Theatre District
District
New York State
CityNew York City
Boroughs of New York CityManhattan

The Yiddish Theatre District, also called the Jewish Rialto and the Yiddish Realto, was the center of

musical shows.[3][6][7]

By World War I, the Yiddish Theatre District was cited by journalists Lincoln Steffens, Norman Hapgood, and others as the best in the city. It was the leading Yiddish theater district in the world.[1][8][9][10] The District's theaters hosted as many as 20 to 30 shows a night.[7]

After World War II, however, Yiddish theater became less popular.[11] By the mid-1950s few theaters were still extant in the District.[12]

History

The Grand Theatre, some time before 1906

The United States' first Yiddish theater production was hosted in 1882 at the

New York Turn Verein, a gymnastic club at 66 East 4th Street in the Little Germany neighborhood of Manhattan (now considered part of the East Village). While most of the early Yiddish theaters were located in the Lower East Side south of Houston Street, several theater producers were considering moving north into the East Village along Second Avenue by the first decades of the 20th century.[13]
: 31 

In 1903, New York's first Yiddish theater was built, the

Second Avenue Theatre, which opened in 1911 at 35–37 Second Avenue,[15] and the National Theater, which opened in 1912 at 111–117 East Houston Street.[16]

New York City landmark in 1993.[17]

In addition to Yiddish theaters, the District had related music stores, photography studios, flower shops, restaurants, and cafes (including Cafe Royal, on East 12th Street and Second Avenue).

Hebrew Actors Union, the first theatrical union in the US.[22]

George Gershwin, c. late 1920s or early 1930s

The childhood home of composer and pianist George Gershwin (born Jacob Gershvin) and his brother lyricist Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershowitz) was in the center of the Yiddish Theatre District, on the second floor at 91 Second Avenue, between East 5th and 6th Streets. They frequented the local Yiddish theaters.[1][23][24][25] Composer and lyricist Irving Berlin (born Israel Baline) also grew up in the District, in a Yiddish-speaking home.[24][26] Actor John Garfield (born Jacob Garfinkle) grew up in the heart of the Yiddish Theatre District.[27][28] Walter Matthau had a brief career as a Yiddish Theatre District concessions stand cashier.[6]

Among those who began their careers in the Yiddish Theatre District were actor

Jacob Adler (father of actress and acting teacher Stella Adler), who played the title role in Der Yiddisher King Lear (The Yiddish King Lear), before playing on Broadway in The Merchant of Venice.[14][31][32][33][34]

The

Michael Tilson-Thomas), and Fyvush Finkel (born Philip Finkel).[1][35]

In 2006, New York Governor George Pataki announced $200,000 in state funding would be provided to the Folksbiene, the last remaining historical Yiddish theatre company.[37][38]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^
    ISBN 9781405390224
    . Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  2. ISBN 9780312360870
    . Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  3. ^
    ISBN 9781878741622
    . Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  4. ^ Cofone, Annie (September 13, 2010). "Theater District; Strolling Back Into the Golden Age of Yiddish Theater". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  5. ^ "East Village/Lower East Side Re-zoning; Environmental Impact Study; Chapter 7: Historic Resources" (PDF). 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  6. ^ a b Cofone, Annie (June 8, 2012). "Strolling Back Into the Golden Age of Yiddish Theater". The Local – East Village. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  7. ^ a b "Yiddish music maven sees mamaloshen in mainstream". J. The Jewish News of Northern California. November 28, 1997. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  8. ^ a b "Yiddish Theater District June 3 Walking Tour". Lower East Side Preservation Initiative. June 26, 2012. Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  9. ^ Sussman, Lance J. "Jewish History Resources in New York State". nysed.gov. Archived from the original on May 14, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  10. ISBN 9780486238715
    . Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  11. ^ J. Katz (September 29, 2005). "O'Brien traces history of Yiddish theater". Campus Times. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  12. ^ Lana Gersten (July 29, 2008). "Bruce Adler, 63, Star of Broadway and Second Avenue". Forward. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  13. ^ "East Village/Lower East Side Historic District" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. October 9, 2012. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  14. ^ a b CK Wolfson (October 14, 2012). "Robert Brustein on the tradition of Yiddish theater". The Martha's Vineyard Times. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  15. ^ "$800,000 THEATRE OPENS ON EAST SIDE; Big as the Hippodrome, but Many Are Turned Away from First Night's Performance". The New York Times. September 15, 1911. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  16. ^ "CURES' GREAT HALL AT CITY COLLEGE; Harvard Scientist Remedies Faulty Acoustics After a Summer's Experimenting". The New York Times. September 25, 1912. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  17. ^
    ISBN 978-0-470-28963-1
    ., p.67
  18. ISBN 978-0-8129-3107-5
    .
  19. ^ James Benjamin Loeffler (1997). A Gilgul Fun a Nigun: Jewish Musicians in New York, 1881–1945. Harvard College Library. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  20. ISBN 9780275987954
    . Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  21. ISBN 9781565126367
    . Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  22. ^ Bonnie Rosenstock (July 8, 2009). "Yiddish stars still shine, just less frequently, on 7th". Thevillager.com. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  23. ^ Howard Pollack (2006). George Gershwin: His Life and Work. University of California Press. p. 43. Retrieved March 10, 2013. george gershwin second avenue yiddish.
  24. ^ a b "Reviving, Revisiting Yiddish Culture", Mark Swed, LA Times, October 20, 1998
  25. ^ "Judaic Treasures of the Library of Congress: George Gershwin". Jewish Virtual Library. 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  26. ISBN 9780844411309
    . Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  27. ISBN 9780879109851
    . Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  28. ^ Henry Bial (2005). Acting Jewish: Negotiating Ethnicity on the American Stage & Screen. University of Michigan Press. p. 39. Retrieved March 10, 2013. Jacob Garfinkle yiddish.
  29. ISBN 9780403099504
    . Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  30. ISBN 9780882298009
    . Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  31. ^ Morgen Stevens-Garmon (February 7, 2012). "Treasures and "Shandas" from the Collection on Yiddish theater". Museum of the City of New York. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  32. ISBN 9781418559175
    . Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  33. ISBN 9780549927716. Retrieved March 10, 2013.[permanent dead link
    ]
  34. ^ Lawrence Bush (February 28, 2010). "February 28: Molly Picon". Jewishcurrents.org. Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  35. ^
    ISBN 9781612430560
    . Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  36. ^ Horn, Dara (October 15, 2009). "Dara Horn explains how ethnic food goes from the exotic to the mainstream. Then the nostalgia kicks in". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on October 2, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2013.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  37. ^ Tugend, Tom (April 19, 2007). "Films: The little Yiddish theater that could". Jewish Journal. Archived from the original on May 8, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  38. ^ Leon, Masha (January 17, 2008). "Yiddish Theater: Going Strong". The Forward. Retrieved April 9, 2016.


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