New York's Yiddish theater : from the Bowery to Broadway /
In the early decades of the twentieth century, a vibrant theatrical culture took shape on New York City's Lower East Side. Original dramas, comedies, musicals and vaudeville, along with sophisticated productions of Shakespeare, Ibsen and Chekhov, were innovatively staged for crowds that rivaled...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
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New York :
Columbia University Press in association with the Museum of the City of New York,
[2016]
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| Subjects: |
| Summary: | In the early decades of the twentieth century, a vibrant theatrical culture took shape on New York City's Lower East Side. Original dramas, comedies, musicals and vaudeville, along with sophisticated productions of Shakespeare, Ibsen and Chekhov, were innovatively staged for crowds that rivaled the scene on Broadway. While these productions were in Yiddish and catered to eastern European Jewish audiences (the largest immigrant group in the city at the time), their artistic and aesthetic creations and their play with politics and history came to influence all facets of the American stage. Vividly illustrated and with contributions from leading historians and critics, this history recounts in absorbing detail the heyday of "Yiddish Broadway" and its vital contribution to American Jewish life and its crossover to the broader American culture. These performances grappled with Jewish nationalism, labor relations, women's rights, religious observance, acculturation and assimilation. They reflected a range of genres, from tear-jerkers to experimental theater. The artists who came of age in this world include Stella Adler, Eddie Cantor, Jerry Lewis, Sophie Tucker, Mel Brooks and Joan Rivers. The story of New York's Yiddish theater is a tale of creativity and legacy and of immigrants who, in the process of becoming Americans, had an enormous impact on the country's cultural and artistic development. |
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| Item Description: | Published on the occasion of the exhibition held at the Museum of the City of New York, March 9-July 31, 2016. "Featuring images from the collections of the Museum of the City of New York and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research." |
| Physical Description: | 327 pages : illustrations (some color), portraits ; 26 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9780231176705 0231176708 |