The Moscow Yiddish Theatre: Art on Stage in the Time of Revolution

By Benjamin Harshav
Benjamin and Barbara Harshav, trans. Yale University Press, 2007. 248 pp.$45.00 (pbk)ISBN: 978-0-300-11513-0
Reviewed by Norman J. Fedder

This book is a potpourri of information about the renowned multimedia Moscow Yiddish Theatre, from its creation in 1918 through its demise in 1949.

Part I, written by Benjamin Harshav, constitutes an overview of the Theatre’s history and aesthetics, featuring the central roles in its development of director Aleksey Granovsky, actor Solomon Mikhoels, and painter Marc Chagall.

Part II consists of numerous memoirs and essays about the theatre by contemporary observers and participants, as well as two brief scripts by Sholom Aleichem from the first Moscow production.

Hostile to religion, Granovsky was equally contemptuous of the Goldfaden school of Yiddish melodrama and the realistic, text-based theatre of Stanislavsky. Through his work with legendary German director Max Reinhardt and influenced by European avant-garde movements, Granovsky developed his commitment to staging mass scenes in a production where text, actors, scenery, lighting, costumes, music, and acrobatic movement are interwoven to create “one, total effect,” painstakingly prepared and extensively rehearsed by the omnipotent director.

He achieved great success with his interpretations of the work of classic Yiddish authors, Mendele, Peretz, and Aleichem, especially in the stunning performances of Mikhoels – productions which, perhaps, can best be described as theatrical renderings of the paintings of Chagall.

<< Previous

Back to Top