Yiddish Empire: The Vilna Troupe, Jewish Theater, and the Art of Itinerancy

Caplan, Debra

doi:doi:10.3998/mpub.9533320

Debra Caplan

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Yiddish Empire tells the story of how a group of itinerant Jewish performers became the interwar equivalent of a viral sensation, providing a missing chapter in the history of the modern stage. During World War I, a motley group of teenaged amateurs, impoverished war refugees, and out- of- work Russian actors banded together to revolutionize the Yiddish stage. Achieving a most unlikely success through their productions, the Vilna Troupe (1915– 36) would eventually go on to earn the attention of theatergoers around the world. Advancements in modern transportation allowed Yiddish theater artists to reach global audiences, traversing not only cities and districts but also countries and continents. The Vilna Troupe routinely performed in major venues that had never before allowed Jews, let alone Yiddish, upon their stages, and operated across a vast territory, a strategy that enabled them to attract unusually diverse audiences to the Yiddish stage and a precursor to the organizational structures and travel patterns that we see now in contemporary theater. Debra Caplan's history of the Troupe is rigorously researched, employing primary and secondary sources in multiple languages, and is engagingly written.

Cover
Title
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
Acknowledgments
Prologue
One. Spectacular Failures
Two. Jargon Art
Interlude I
- Three. Between Two Worlds
Interlude II
- Four. Nomadic Chutzpah
Interlude III
- Five. The Vilna Troupe Nexus
Interlude IV
- Epilogue
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index

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Black-and-white photograph of two actors on the deck of a ship arriving in New York harbor.

Alexander Asro and Sonia Alomis arriving in New York, 1924

From Chapter 4

Alexander Asro and Sonia Alomis arriving in New York on board the Majestic, January 10, 1924

Black-and-white photograph of actors posing for a group photograph.

Vilna Troupe in New York City with Boris Thomashefsky

From Chapter 4

Members of the Vilna Troupe in New York City with Boris Thomashefsky, 1924

A page from Sonia Alomis's scrapbook, 1924

From Chapter 4

A page from Sonia Alomis's scrapbook showing the actress featured in the New York Review alongside French actress Mistinguett and American actresses Irene Fenwick and Caroll McComas. New York, 1924.

Black-and-white photograph of two actors and their young son.

Alexander Asro and Sonia Alomis with their son, Joseph Asro

From Interlude III

Alexander Asro (left) and Sonia Alomis (right) with their son Joseph Asro (center). Asro and Alomis had to leave Joseph behind in Europe when they immigrated to the United States in 1924. Joseph Asro did not see his parents for six years while they worked on acquiring citizenship.

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Yiddish Empire: The Vilna Troupe, Jewish Theater, and the Art of Itinerancy

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Alexander Asro and Sonia Alomis arriving in New York, 1924

Vilna Troupe in New York City with Boris Thomashefsky

A page from Sonia Alomis's scrapbook, 1924

Alexander Asro and Sonia Alomis with their son, Joseph Asro

Signed photograph of Mary Martin

Signed photograph of Sophie Tucker

Sonia Alomis and Alexander Asro with their son after World War II

Noah Nachbush reciting a monologue from Der dibek (The Dybbuk), Recording 1 of 2

Noah Nachbush reciting a monologue from Der dibek (The Dybbuk), Recording 2 of 2

Yiddish Empire: The Vilna Troupe, Jewish Theater, and the Art of Itinerancy

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