Dramatis personae: Addressing a playwright Out of the ArchivesHow to Find Arthur Miller Without Even Trying, or, The Perks of Being the First Ladyby Stefanie Halpern, Archival Processing Fellow, Center for Jewish History I was processing a collection on the Friends of Ida Kaminska Theatre, a foundation that existed for only a few years to raise funds and to book shows for Kaminska, the much-loved (and…
Women in the Performing ArtsBertha Kalich: Star of the New York Stageby J.D. Arden, M.L.I.S. candidate, Reference Services Research Intern, Center for Jewish History Above image: Yiddish theater poster for Bertha Kalich in Midway at Irving Place Theatre. c/o American Jewish Historical Society. Bertha Kalich was born in 1874 in Lemberg in the Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia, what is today Lvov, Ukraine. Her father…
Yiddish Theaterby Anna Khomina, Research and Special Projects Intern, Center for Jewish History The tradition of Yiddish theater in America began in the 1880s and flourished into the 1920s, as Jewish immigrants streaming in from Eastern Europe yearned for a taste of the old country as well as a mode of entertainment and a gathering space that distracted them from the bustle and drudgery…