Yiddish Theater in America
Date : Tuesday, June 3, 2025
June 3 – July 8, 2025
(Six Selected) Tuesdays, 7:00pm – 8:30pm
Tuesdays, June 3 – July 8, 2025
7:00 PM–8:30 PM On Zoom
$275 / $250 for Theater J Donors and Subscribers
Registration Deadline: May 30, 2025
In this class, writer, performer and translator Caraid O’Brien shares the story of one of the most successful, diverse and influential theatrical movements in history – the Yiddish theater. In its heyday in the 1920’s, the Yiddish theater had over 11 Broadway-style houses in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx, the oldest actors’ Union in America, and a roster of unforgettable talent including Molly Picon, Joseph Buloff, Paul Muni, Rudolph Schildkraut, Bessie and Boris Thomashefsky, Jacob and Sara Adler, Ludwig Satz, Aaron Lebedev, Stella Adler, Luba Kadison, and many, many others. This six-part series will cover the beginning of Yiddish theater in America, the Yiddish musical theater, the Yiddish literary theater, Yiddish radio, Yiddish cinema and the influence of Yiddish theater on American culture.
Caraid O’Brien has translated 8 plays by the Yiddish writer Sholem Asch into English, was a translation fellow at the Yiddish Book Center, received three new play commissions from the Foundation for Jewish Culture, and most recently received a commission from Theater J and Solas Nua in DC. Her one-person show – Land of My Soul: The Theater of Sholem Asch debuted at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in 2024. Caraid also co-curated the theater section of the Yiddish Book Center’s acclaimed new permanent exhibition Yiddish: A Global Culture with Sholem Asch’s great grandson, David Mazower. For examples of and articles about her work visit www.caraidobrien.com.
Schedule
The Berlin Diaries
Synetic Theater’s The Immigrant
No performaces are currently available.
View Details
Avaaz
Support Theater J
As the nation’s largest and most prominent Jewish theater, we aim to preserve and expand a rich Jewish theatrical tradition and to create community and commonality through theater-going experiences. Join us in our mission today.