Yiddish theatre consists of plays written and performed primarily by Jews in Yiddish, the language of the Central European Ashkenazi Jewish community. The range of Yiddish theatre is broad: operetta, musical comedy, and satiric or nostalgic revues; melodrama; naturalist drama; expressionist and modernist plays. At its height, its geographical scope was comparably broad: from the late 19th century until just before World War II, professional Yiddish theatre could be found throughout the heavily Jewish areas of Eastern and East Central Europe, but also in Berlin, London, Paris, Buenos Aires and New York City.
Abraham Goldfaden, also known as Avram Goldfaden, was a Russian-born Jewish poet, playwright, stage director and actor in Yiddish and Hebrew languages and author of some 40 plays. Goldfaden is considered the father of modern Jewish theatre.
Israel (Yisrol) Grodner was one of the founding performers in Yiddish theater. A Lithuanian Jew who moved at the age of 16 to Berdychiv, Ukraine, Russian Empire, the Broder singer and actor was in Iaşi, Romania in 1876 when Abraham Goldfaden recruited him as the first actor for what became the first professional Yiddish theater troupe. Jacob Adler remarks that as the only Lithuanian Jew in the early years of Yiddish theater, he deliberately spoke a different dialect of Yiddish on stage so that it would blend better with the other actors.
The Hebrew Actors' Union (HAU) was a craft union for actors in Yiddish theater in the United States, and was the first actors' union in the United States. The union was affiliated with the Associated Actors and Artistes of America of the AFL.
Schwartz is a last name of German/Yiddish (German-Jewish) origin, meaning "black". It was originally a nickname for someone with black hair or a dark complexion. It may refer to:
The Moscow State Jewish (Yiddish) Theatre, also known by its acronym GOSET (ГОСЕТ), was a Yiddish theatre company established in 1919 and shut down in 1948 by the Soviet authorities. During its time in operation, it served as a prominent expression of Jewish culture in Russia under Joseph Stalin. Under its founding artistic director, Alexander Granowsky, productions were heavily influenced by the avant-garde trends of Europe and many reflected an expressionistic style. Summertime tours to rural shtetls were extremely popular. At the end of a 1928 tour in Germany, Granowsky defected to the west, and Solomon Mikhoels became artistic director in his place. During Mikhoels' tenure the theatre branched out beyond classic Yiddish theatre productions to include works by Soviet Yiddish writers and William Shakespeare. The theatre continued to operate during World War II in Moscow and, after the evacuation of the city in 1943, in Tashkent. Mikhoels was murdered by the MVD in 1948 and his successor, Benjamin Zuskin, was arrested shortly after. In 1948 the Soviet authorities ordered the theatre to be shut down along with all other Yiddish theatre companies in the Soviet Union.
Sandler is a Yiddish family name. A rarer variant is Sendler.
"Break a leg" is a typical English idiom used in the context of theatre or other performing arts to wish a performer "good luck". An ironic or non-literal saying of uncertain origin, "break a leg" is commonly said to actors and musicians before they go on stage to perform or before an audition. Though the term likely originates in German, the English expression is first attributed in the 1930s or possibly 1920s, originally documented without specifically theatrical associations. Among professional dancers, the traditional saying is not "break a leg", but the French word merde.
Finkel, Finckel or Finkle is a surname. Notable people with the name include:
Zuckerberg is a Jewish surname of German and Yiddish origin meaning "sugar mountain". People with the surname include:
Edelstein is the German word for "gemstone". Edelstein is also a surname of German origin which means "noble stone" or in its literal sense "precious stone".
Wilner is a German and Jewish surname meaning "from Wilna/Vilne". Alternative form: Vilensky, Wilenski. Notable people with the surname include:
Grodner is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Licht is a German and Yiddish surname meaning "light". The surname is also an ornamental surname within Jewish communities with the same meaning. Notable people with the surname include:
Vinokur is an East Slavic-language occupational surname. The word "винокур" is an archaic name of the profession of spirit distilling.
Chipp is an English surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Hertz is an Anglicized name of German origin, with 'herz' literally meaning 'heart' in English. This alternate spelling of 'Herz' with an additional 't' primarily arose during the 19th and 20th Centuries as German-speaking immigrants travelled to English-dominant regions like North America. 'Hertz' was easier to pronounce in English, and approximated the proper German pronunciation of the word. It is primarily a surname but it has also been used as a given name. Notable people with the name include:
Stutchkoff is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Luba Kadison Buloff was a Lithuanian Jewish actress, active for decades in Yiddish theatre, in both Europe and the United States.
Warszawski, feminine: Warszawska is a Polish-language toponymic surname literally meaning "of/from Warsaw". It may by transliterated as Warshavsky / Warshavska, etc.
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