Digital Yiddish Theatre Project

Recent Posts

Mar 15, 2021

Wikidata, Yiddish Theatre Posters, and the World

Heidi G. Lerner

Part one of two on how the digital humanities can inspire the world of Yiddish theatre.

Nov 02, 2020

Ven Moysh iz geforn: Maurice Schwartz on the Yiddish Theatre in Argentina in 1930 (Part I)

Zachary Baker

In May 1930, Maurice Schwartz – Yiddish actor, director, impresario – went to Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Long Form

Aug 23, 2021

Khonen in Drag: Cross-Dressing in Two Productions of The Dybbuk during the 1920s (Plus, a Review of One of These Productions)

Zachary Baker

What was the “trouser role”?

Long Form

Jun 29, 2021

A Timeline of Yiddish Drag

The Digital Yiddish Theatre Project

Yiddish theatre…the gayest theater?

Jun 24, 2021

A Year of Yiddish Theatre in Covid: A Wrap Up?

Faith Jones

In the past year, we’ve covered a number of COVID-era online productions, from drag, to Yiddish-inspired new plays, to a re-mounted classic, to long-ignored material and more long-ignored material.

Jun 21, 2021

The Bird of COVID

Faith Jones

Chava Rosenfarb’s Der foygl fun geto (The Bird of the Ghetto) had its Yiddish-language premiere April 18 to 22, on the Folksbiene’s video channel.

Jun 17, 2021

Interview: Sabina Brukner on the Folksbiene’s Yiddish Women Playwrights Festival

Sonia Gollance

The National Yiddish Theater Folksbiene recently launched its Yiddish Women Playwrights Festival with a reading of Chava Rosenfarb’s drama of the Vilna Ghetto, Der foygl fun geto.

Jun 14, 2021

The Dybbuk of COVID

Faith Jones

The Congress for Jewish Culture’s YouTube Live performance of Der dibek (The Dybbuk), presented in Yiddish, premiered on December 14, 2020, in honor of the play’s 100th anniversary.

Jun 08, 2021

The Menashe Skulnik Story in the Forward

Zachary Baker

Menashe Skulnik (1892-1970) was one of the great comic actors of the Yiddish theatre, remembered for his trademark porkpie hat and beloved for his schlemiel-like stage persona.

May 24, 2021

Menashe Skulnik Becomes a Star in Buenos Aires

Zachary Baker

Menashe Skulnik (1892-1970) was one of the great comic actors of the Yiddish theatre, remembered for his trademark porkpie hat and beloved for his schlemiel-like stage persona.

Apr 12, 2021

Why Wikidata is Good for Yiddish Theatre Research

Heidi G. Lerner

Part two of two on how the digital humanities can inspire the world of Yiddish theatre.

Feb 24, 2021

Shtetl Gothic on the Virtual Stage: Rokhl Kafrissen’s Shtumer shabes at the Chutzpah Festival

Sonia Gollance

What would it take for a Yiddish theatre production to rival the fame of Sh. An-ski’s The Dybbuk?