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

Caplan, Debra

doi:doi:10.3998/mpub.9533320

Debra Caplan

2018

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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.

ISBN(s)

978-0-472-03725-4 (paper)
978-0-472-12368-1 (ebook)
978-0-472-13077-1 (hardcover)

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Black-and-white photograph of actress Sonia Alomis dressed in rags.

Di niveyle (Carcass), Berlin, 1921

From Chapter 3

Sonia Alomis as Reyzele in Di niveyle (Carcass) by Peretz Hirschbein. Produced by Azro and Alomis's Vilna Troupe in Berlin, 1921.

Black-and-white photograph of actor Alexander Asro and actress Sonia Alomis embracing

Alexander Asro and Sonia Alomis at a dress rehearsal in Berlin, 1921

From Chapter 3

Alexander Asro and Sonia Alomis at a dress rehearsal in Berlin, 1921

Black-and-white photograph of Sonia Alomis in costume in front of a tallis curtain.

Der dibek (The Dybbuk), Berlin, 1922

From Chapter 3

Sonia Alomis as Leah in Der dibuk (The Dybbuk) by S. An-sky. Performed by Asro and Alomis's Vilna Troupe in Berlin, 1922.

Black-and-white photograph of actor Alexander Asro in costume.

Grine felder (Green Fields), Leipzig, 1922

From Chapter 3

Alexander Asro as Levi-Yitskhok in Grine Felder (Green Fields) by Peretz Hirschbein. Performed by Asro and Alomis's Vilna Troupe in Leipzig, 1922.

Black-and-white photograph of two actors portraying a beggar and a possessed woman.

The dance of death scene in Der dibek (The Dybbuk), Paris, 1922

From Chapter 3

The dance of death scene in Der dibek (The Dybbuk). Performed by Asro and Alomis's Vilna Troupe in Paris, 1922.

Portrait of Sonia Alomis in The Dybbuk by English painter Walter Sickert

From Chapter 3

Portrait of Sonia Alomis as Leah in The Dybbuk by English avant-garde painter Walter Sickert. The caption reads "The greatest actress of the age." London, likely 1922.

Black-and-white photograph of three actors in Jewish religious costumes.

Der dibek (The Dybbuk), Berlin, 1923

From Chapter 3

Alexander Asro as Khonen (left), Noah Nachbush as the Messenger (center), and Sonia Alomis as Leah (right) in Der dibek (The Dybbuk) by S. An-sky. Performed by Asro and Alomis's Vilna Troupe in Berlin, 1923.

Black-and-white photograph of a wedding scene.

Wedding scene from Der dibek (The Dybbuk), Paris, 1923

From Chapter 3

The wedding scene from Der dibek (The Dybbuk) by S. An-sky. Performed by Asro and Alomis's Vilna Troupe in Paris, 1923.

Black-and-white photograph of actors on the deck of a ship.

Vilna Troupe members departing from Hamburg Port, 1924

From Chapter 4

Members of Asro and Alomis's Vilna Troupe departing from Hamburg Port, 1924

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.

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

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Di niveyle (Carcass), Berlin, 1921

Alexander Asro and Sonia Alomis at a dress rehearsal in Berlin, 1921

Der dibek (The Dybbuk), Berlin, 1922

Grine felder (Green Fields), Leipzig, 1922

The dance of death scene in Der dibek (The Dybbuk), Paris, 1922

Portrait of Sonia Alomis in The Dybbuk by English painter Walter Sickert

Der dibek (The Dybbuk), Berlin, 1923

Wedding scene from Der dibek (The Dybbuk), Paris, 1923

Vilna Troupe members departing from Hamburg Port, 1924

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