Stars of the Yiddish Stage |
The Merchant of Venice starring Jacob P. Adler as Shylock. Photograph, 1903. Folger Shakespeare Library.
Actress Keni Liptzin in the title role of Mirele Efros, the Jewish Queen Lear. From the Archives of the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.
At the turn of the century, America’s Yiddish theaters, located mainly in New York but also in other cities, had a vigorous tradition of Shakespeare productions. Translated into Yiddish—a language written in the Hebrew alphabet and spoken in many Jewish communities around the world—Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Othello, and even The Merchant of Venice were proven hits.
The theaters also produced original Yiddish-language plays inspired by Shakespeare’s works. The Jewish King Lear, first performed in New York, tells the story of a Jewish father in what is now Lithuania; it became more popular with New York audiences than the translation of Shakespeare’s original play. The playwright Jacob Gordin’s sequel, The Jewish Queen Lear—better known by its subtitle, Mirele Efros—proved even more successful.