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Yiddish Theatre District

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The Yiddish Theatre District, also called the Jewish Rialto and the Yiddish Realto, was the center of New York City's Yiddish theatre scene in the early 20th century. It was located primarily on Second Avenue, though it extended to Avenue B, between Houston Street and East 14th Street in the East Village in Manhattan.[1][2][3][4][5] The District hosted performances in Yiddish of Jewish, Shakespearean, classic, and original plays, comedies, operettas, and dramas, as well as vaudeville, burlesque, and musical shows.[3][6][7]

Yiddish Theatre District
District
Picture of poster with worn edges and yiddish writing
poster for The Yiddish King Lear
Country United States
StateNew York State
CityNew York City
Boroughs of New York CityManhattan

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

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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 Grand Theatre. In addition to translated versions of classic plays, it featured vaudeville acts, musicals, and other entertainment.[14] Second Avenue gained more prominence as a Yiddish theater destination in the 1910s with the opening of two theatres: 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]

 
In 1926, developer Louis N. Jaffe built this theatre for actor Maurice Schwartz ("Mr. Second Avenue") and his Yiddish Art Theatre. After four seasons it became the Yiddish Folks Theatre,[17] then a movie theatre, the home of the Phoenix Theatre, the Entermedia Theatre, and now a movie theater again, the Village East Cinema.[18] It was designated a 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).[8][19][20] Metro Music, on Second Avenue in the District, published most of the Yiddish and Hebrew sheet music for the American market until they went out of business in the 1970s.[21] The building at 31 East 7th Street in the District is owned by the 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 Paul Muni and actress, lyricist, and dramatic storyteller Molly Picon (born Małka Opiekun). Picon performed in plays in the District for seven years.[29][30] Another who started in the District was 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 Second Avenue Deli, opened in 1954 by which time most of the Yiddish theaters had disappeared, thrived on the corner of Second Avenue and East 10th Street in the District, but it has since moved to different locations.[35][36] The Yiddish Walk of Fame is on the sidewalk outside of its original location, honoring stars of the Yiddish era such as Molly Picon, actor Menasha Skulnik, singer and actor Boris Thomashevsky (grandfather of conductor, pianist, and composer 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

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References

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Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Andrew Rosenberg, Martin Dunford (2012). The Rough Guide to New York City. Penguin. ISBN 9781405390224. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  2. ^ Let's Go, Inc (2006). Let's Go New York City 16th Edition. Macmillan. ISBN 9780312360870. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  3. ^ a b Oscar Israelowitz (2004). Oscar Israelowitz's guide to Jewish New York City. Israelowitz Publishing. 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. ^ Ronald Sanders (1979). The Lower East Side: A Guide to Its Jewish Past With 99 New Photographs. Courier Dover Publications. 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. ^ a b New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission; Dolkart, Andrew S.; Postal, Matthew A. (2009). Postal, Matthew A. (ed.). Guide to New York City Landmarks (4th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-28963-1., p.67
  18. ^ White, Norval & Willensky, Elliot (2000). AIA Guide to New York City (4th ed.). New York: Three Rivers Press. 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. ^ Paul Buhle (2007). Jews and American Popular Culture: Music, theater, popular art, and literature. Praeger Publishers. ISBN 9780275987954. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  21. ^ Aaron Lansky (2005). Outwitting History: The Amazing Adventures of a Man Who Rescued a Million Yiddish Books. Algonquin Books. 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. ^ Jack Gottlieb (2004). Funny It Doesn't Sound Jewish: How Yiddish Songs and Synagogue Melodies Influences Tin Pan Alley, Broadway, and Hollywood. SUNY Press. ISBN 9780844411309. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  27. ^ Robert Nott (2003). He Ran All the Way: The Life of John Garfield. Hal Leonard Corporation. 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. ^ Pennsylvania Biographical Dictionary. North American Book Dist LLC. January 1999. ISBN 9780403099504. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  30. ^ Milton Plesur (1982). Jewish life in twentieth-century America: challenge and accommodation. Nelson-Hall. 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. ^ Hy Brett (1997). The Ultimate New York City Trivia Book. Thomas Nelson Inc. ISBN 9781418559175. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  33. ^ Cary Leiter (2008). The Importance of the Yiddish Theatre in the Evolution of the Modern American Theatre. 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. ^ a b Adrienne Gusoff (2012). Dirty Yiddish: Everyday Slang from "What's Up?" to "F*%# Off!". Ulysses Press. 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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