JOINT ISSUE _The Mendele Review_: Yiddish Literature and Language (A Companion to _MENDELE_) and _Yiddish Theater Forum_ [_YTF_] ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 06.009 _TMR_ and Vol. 01.002 _YTF_ 30 September 2002 1) Letter from the Editor (Joel Berkowitz) 2) Letters to the Editor a. Yiddish Theatre in South Africa (Veronica Belling) b. A Yiddish Play About Roderigo Lopez (Robin Lithgow) c. Zylbercweig's Legacy (Shirley Fair) d. Seeking Yiddish Play on Slavery in Egypt (Yankev Szczupak) e. Yiddish Pro-Zionist Plays after Balfour Declaration (James Renton) 3) A Names Index to Zylbercweig's _Leksikon_ (Faith Jones) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 30 September 2002 From: Joel Berkowitz Subject: Letter from the Editor Sometimes the field of Yiddish Studies seems to have as many phantom books as it does actual ones. Subscribers to _Mendele_ periodically revisit the bitter debate over the fate of the as-yet-only-aleph _Groyser verterbukh fun der yidisher shprakh_. Less prominent, but tantalizing in their own way, to the student of Yiddish theatre history are the countless would-have-been, could-have-been publications relating specifically to Yiddish theatre and drama: some which got no further than the dreaming stage , others begun but never completed. Anyone who has enjoyed wandering through the pages of Khonen Yankev Minikes's _Di idishe bine_ (1897) or of Jacob Shatzky’s _Arkhiv far der geshikhte fun yidishn teater un drame_ (1930) is bound to share the mixture o f gratitude for the fact that such works exist, and frustration that the planned succeeding volumes of these collections never came to be. At the moment, I can hardly imagine anyone conducting serious research on the Yiddish theatre without further contributing to the phantom scholarship syndrome. In this case I refer not to articles never submitted or monographs left unfinished, but rather to notes taken during research that are all but impossible for one individual to flesh out into a complete guide. Let us take, for example, some of the most basic information about a theatre production: When and where was it produced? Who were the playwright, composer, director, designer, performers? How much did tickets cost? Where was the theatre located, and what sort of building was it? How successful was the production, commercially and critically? Was it reviewed in the Yiddish press? In other languages? Is it discussed in any memoirs of the Yiddish stage? Have any materials related to the production been preserved, such as scripts, scores, designs, posters, etc.? In an ideal world, scholars of Yiddish theatre might be gathered together by a modern Medici who could keep them gainfully employed on a combination of individual and communal projects. Since that is unlikely to happen any time soon, however, perhaps there is a way to bridge the divide between such a scenario in which each scholar stakes a claim on a particular subject and works on it in isolation. Are there fruits of our labor that we can share not because we are compensated financially or with additional lines on our curriculum vitae, but simply because it will advance our field of study in ways that individual endeavors, whatever their other merits, cannot do? In the abstract, this might sound like the daydream of a Pollyanna, but if each of us has made notes that are of limited use on their own, and are part of collections of data too vast for any individual or small group of researchers to have a reasonable chance of completing, then perhaps it is time to start developing systems by which to pool our formidable but scattered resources—-a kind of ‘tikkun olam’ of Yiddish theatre research. Take, for example, the countless instances of memoirs of theatre personnel that were published in newspapers or theatre journals, but never collected in book form: the recollections of prominent figures such as Avrom Fishzon, Bertha Kalish, and Maurice Schwartz, to name just a few examples. In some cases, directories such as Zylbercweig’s _Leksikon_ would lead the researcher to the specific time and publication in which a theatre figure’s memoirs were published, but far more often, coming across such writings depends on serendipity, an exciting but notoriously unreliable handmaiden. I therefore suggest that the _Yiddish Theater Forum_ serve as a central repository of such information. In order both to test the waters and to keep the task focused, let us begin by trying to assemble a list of memoirs like those discussed above. If y ou have come across such writings, please submit them to the Forum, indicating the publication as well as the full range of dates when the memoirs were published, if possible, e.g.: Schwartz, Maurice. _Forverts_, Jan. 1941 – May 1942. If not all the dates are known, please provide as much information as you do know, e.g.: Fishzon, Avrom. _Morgen zhurnal_, as of Mar. 1925. Please submit only information that you have verified firsthand. We will also be happy to read your suggestions for future joint ventures as well. In the meantime, this second issue demonstrates that the _YTF_ is already beginning to bear fruit by serving as a cyberkiosk announcing important new research projects, and as a vehicle for airing _shayles_ and (one hopes!) _tshuves_. The announcements below by Veronica Belling and Faith Jones are welcome news indeed; we encourage other readers to inform your colleagues of recently completed projects as well as of works in progress. 2a)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 30 September 2002 From: Veronica Belling Subject: Yiddish Theatre in South Africa I thought I should let the Forum know about my research on Yiddish theatre in South Africa.... Some readers might have come across my article on the Golden years of Yiddish theatre in South Africa, 1902-1910 in _Jewish Affairs_ 2000 ["The Golden Years of Yiddish Theatre in South Africa, 1902-1910," _Jewish Affairs_ 55 (2000), 7-14. -- eds.]. This article formed the basis of the first chapter of a comprehensive history of Yiddish theatre in South Africa, which I am currently in the throes of finishing off. It will be submitted as a dissertation in the Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies at the University of Cape Town. It is a pioneering research as Yiddish theatre has up to now been totally omitted from South African Jewish historiography. It has been a fascinating undertaking, at times very frustrating as Yiddish theatre was for many years very scarce and even when it was more plentiful, was under reported in the South African Jewish Press, which forms the basis of the research. The histor y includes overseas visiting companies and solo artistes, as well as local amateur theatre. It spans the years 1896 when the first Yiddish theatre performance of Yankl Rosenfeld, a Goldfaden disciple, together with three other actors from Europe, was repo rted, to 1960 when Yiddish amateur theatre had become increasingly scarce and the vision of establishing a permanent Yiddish Theatre in Johannesburg had finally been put to rest. The main history takes place in Johannesburg, although Cape Town also featu res fairly largely. It also includes several smaller towns in the Transvaal and the Western Cape, as well as a brief mention of Durban in Natal and Port Elizabeth and East London in the Eastern Cape. Veronica Belling Jewish Studies Librarian University of Cape Town Libraries Tel.no. (021) 650-3779; Fax (021) 650-3062. 2b)------------------------------------------- Date: 30 September 2002 Robin Lithgow Subject: Is there a Yiddish Play about Roderigo Lopez? I have heard that there is a Yiddish play about Roderigo Lopez, the surgeon to Queen Elizabeth I, who was tried and executed for "treason" (for allegedly attempting to poison the queen) and later exonerated by most historians. Do you know of such a play? Is there a version in translation? 2c)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 7 September 2002 From: Shirley Fair Subject: Zalmen Zylbercweig's Legacy My name is Shirley Fair, daughter of Celia and Zalmen Zylbercweig, sole writer of the 6 volumes of the Lexicon of the Yiddish Theater. [In fact, he collaborated with Jacob Mestel on the first three volumes. -- eds.] My father passed away 30 years ago, and left a magnificent legacy. All of his manuscrips, works, photos, etc., were willed to Israel, and are displayed in Mount Scopus "Israel Goor Theater Archives". Very happy to hear that there is such an interest in Yiddish Theater. Should you want to contact me, please do so. Sincerely, Shirley Fair 2d)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 12 September 2002 From: Yankev Szczupak Subject: Seeking Yiddish Play on Slavery in Egypt Beshas mayn hayorikn bazukh in poyln hot eyner fun di teatrale artistishe farvalter un rezhisern mir gebetn tsu fartaytshn un shikn tsu im a (fule) dramatishe pyese vegn der shklaferay un bafrayung fun knekhtshaft fun di yidn in mitsraim. Tsi kent ir mir helfn gefinen di rikhtung vu zol ikh zikh vendn tsu gefinen aza oder an enlekhe shpil? During my visit to Poland this year, a theatre director there asked me to translate and send him a (full-length) play about the enslavement and liberation of the Jews in Egypt. Can you point me in the right direction to find such a play, or a comparable one? 2e)------------------------------------------------------ Date: 21 September 2002 From: James Renton Subject: Yiddish Pro-Zionist Plays after Balfour Declaration I am looking for Yiddish plays that were written during the First World War concerning the Balfour Declaration. 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 30 September 2002 From: Faith Jones Subject: A Names Index to Zylbercweig's _Leksikon_ Leonard Prager (YTF 01.001) mentions parenthetically the need for an index to the _Leksikon fun yidishn teater_. An index to the name entries in the six published volumes will shortly be available on the web site of the Dorot Jewish Division of The New York Public Library. The index was compiled initially for our own purposes, that is, to assist librarians in cataloging, particularly when we come across an actor, playwright or producer who is not already in the library's catalog as either an author or subject. We were delighted to realize the need for such an index went beyond our own purposes and to share the work we've done so far. A further index of the theaters and productions mentioned within the entries would be desirable for researchers: while we await a volunteer for that mammoth task, the name index will, we hope, provide relief from at least one impediment to using this unique and wonderful reference work. One of the unexpected joys of being forced to look at every page of the _Leksikon_ as we compiled the index was our continual amazement and wonder at the head shots, which could today be sent only to an agent casting a production of Dracula. The index, the projected launch date of which is October 7, will be available in PDF format through the Jewish Division's web site: www.nypl.org/humanities/jewish. Individuals are welcome to print out the index for their own use. Libraries and other institutions may print out and bind the index if they wish: they are requested to credit The New York Public Library. A catalog record is available in RLIN (ID number NYPH01-B12627). Theater researchers may also find useful two related projects. The Jewish Division's large collection of Thomashefsky playscripts has been cataloged and is searchable through our on-line catalog (http://catnyp.nypl.org). A finding aid is posted on the Division's web site. Finally, a group of Yiddish theater posters from New York and Buenos Aires has been selected for digitization by The New York Public Library's Digital Library Program. These images are available on-line for viewing and personal use. High-quality digital versions suitable for reproduction are available for a fee. Faith Jones Jewish Division, The New York Public Library ________________________________________________________________ End of _The Mendele Review_ 06.009 / _Yiddish Theater Forum_ 01.002 Leonard Prager, editor Joel Berkowitz, editor _Yiddish Theater Forum_ Honorary Board Raphael Goldwasser, Shifra Lerer, Bernard Mendelovich, Joseph Schein Advisory Council Dror Abend-David, Jean Baumgarten, Helen Beer, Paola Bertolone, Mendy Cahan, Jeremy Dauber, Jerold Frakes, Ben Furnish, Itsik Gottesman, Avraham Greenbaum, Nina Hein, Barbara Henry, Dov-Ber Kerler, John Klier, David Mazower, Laura Mincer, Edna Nahshon, Yitskhok Niborski, Leonard Prager, Alyssa Quint, Ron Robboy, Nahma Sandrow, Vassili Schedrin, Joseph Schein, Jutta Strauss, Jeffrey Veidlinger, Nina Warnke, Seth Wolitz, Moshe Yassur Subscribers to _Mendele_ (see below) automatically receive _The Mendele Review_ and all of the latter's joint issues with _Yiddish Theater Forum_. 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