Yiddish Theater Public Programs

In 1900, at a time when the city's total Jewish population was only around half a million, New York's Yiddish theaters sold about one million tickets. By the mid-1920s, the city's 14 Yiddish theater houses served some 300,000 families. Yiddish theater arrived in America at the start of mass immigration from Eastern Europe, and it quickly became the immigrant community's most beloved pastime.

But as the New York Times explores in its review of our newest exhibition, the theater's legacy extended far beyond the community of the Lower East Side. "A definite if wobbly line connects the Yiddish theater...to the giants of modern American entertainment," writes Joseph Berger in today's paper. "It traces a long road from the ghettos and shtetls to Broadway and Hollywood and the likes of Marlon Brando andBarbra Streisand." The gown Streisand wore in Funny Girl, profiles of Catskills comedians like Jerry Lewis and Jackie Mason, and photos of Frank Sinatra andAlbert Einstein as enthusiastic audience members for the Yiddish theater – all on view in the gallery – tell a richer story of this culture's impact.

New York's Yiddish Theater: From the Bowery to Broadway, a co-presentation of the Museum of the City of New York, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, the National Yiddish Book Center, and the National Yiddish Theater-Folksbiene, runs through July 31. Plan your visit today!

Yiddish Theater Public Programs

·         “Reimagining Fiddler on the Roof” on Monday, March 28 at 6:30 pm – With Fiddler on the Roof back on Broadway, join us for a conversation about the challenges of staging a classic Broadway musical for contemporary audiences; featuring Bartlett Sher, Alisa Solomon, Marc Henry Aronson, and Edna Nahshon, with a special performance from the three sisters in the current cast.

·         “Voices from the Yiddish Stage” on Thursday, April 7, 2016 at 6:30pm – A presentation highlighting the careers of world-renowned musicians and actors in the Yiddish Theater such as Molly Picon and Ida Kaminska.   

·         “From God of Vengeance to Indecent” on Tuesday, April 19 at 7:00 pm – A conversation about the radical possibilities of Yiddish theater, from the 1923 production of God of Vengeance to Paula Vogel’s new play, Indecent, featuring Paula Vogel, Rebecca Taichman, Marvin Carlson, and Joel Berkowitz. 

·         “Vintage Theater on a Modern Stage: The Golden Bride” on Wednesday, May 4 at 6:30 pm – The creative team behind the smash-hit revival of the 1923 operetta The Golden Bride performs select songs from the show during this program.

·          “From the Bowery to Broadway” Yiddish Theater in Song and Conversation” on Wednesday, May 18th at 6:30 pm – A performance and panel discussion about the New York roots of Yiddish theater and musical theater featuring Mike Burstyn, Hasia Diner, Mark Slobin, and Edna Nahshon.

·         “The Yiddish Walk of Fame: A Walking Tour” on Sunday, June 5 at 10:45 am – Historian Elissa Sampsonleads a walking tour along historic Second Avenue, the birthplace of New York’s Yiddish theater scene.

·         “Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen: A Musical Tour Through New York’s Yiddish Theater” on Tuesday, June 21 at 6:30 pm – Stars of today's Yiddish theater scene narrate the movement’s story in song and anecdote.