Friday, June 26, 1953
YIDDISH STAGE MARKS 75th
ANNIVERSARY
By DAVID SCHWARTZ
(Copyright, 1953, Jewish Telegraphic
Agency, Inc.)
*****
The Yiddish stage has just
marked the 75th anniversary of
its birth. The Jewish stage in the
broader sense, stems from more
distant antiquity. The first great
Jewish drama was the Book of
Job, certainly one of the world's
greatest dramas. Even Tom Paine,
who had few good words to say
about the Bible, spoke in rever
ent terms of Job. God appears as
one of the characters in this
drama.
The Yiddish stage came into
professional being in a wine cel
lar, with Abraham Goldfadden as
its first professional playwright.
COOLING SYSTEMS
FLOOR FANS
Mitchell Air Conditioners
Schwitzer-Cummins Attic Fans
and Window Fans
George W. Greek Co.
DIAL 8-6302
»BB lo^EdgewoodAve^tCollege
PINER'S Hardware
5c & 10c Store
PHONE 9-5866
Open 'til 9 P.M. for Your
Convenience—Every Nite
Except Wednesday
3861 Hendricks Ave. Southside
ACE FISH MARKET
David Rosenthal
701 FLORIDA AVENUE
PHONE 3-7531
SERVICE GLASS &
PAINT CO.
C. E. FRANKLIN, Owner
All Types Residential and
Commercial Glass
Furnished and Installed
Mirrors and Showcase Work
a Specialty
SIS B. BAY ST. PHONE 6-5591
OUR BEST WISHES
Sheoron Cleaners
Monite Insured Moth Proof
Cleaning Process
"Ample Drive-In and Parking
Space"
1057 Kings Ave. Phone 9-1869
JACKSONVILLE 7, FLORIDA
Dura I i t e
INSIDE AND OUTSIDE
Paints
CAPITOL
Paint Store
1803 Main St. Phone 4-3427
Martinez Baker
Electric Company
Industrial and Residential Wiring
of Fine Quality. Free Estimates.
2520 Main St. Phone 6-1777
Colored Property?
LIST IT WITH ME
I HAVE BUYERS WAITING.
F. Henry Williams
Room 200 410 Broad St.
PHONE 4-8355
GREETINGS AND BEST WISHES
Complete Real Estate General Insurance
Service LUDDEN &
PREW AND TELFORD,
LUDDEN Inc.
77 SOUTH PALM AVE. PHONES 6-8291
SARASOTA, FLORIDA
The man who did most to raise
the standards of the Yiddish stage
was Jacob L. Gordin. He could
write a play between breakfast
and lunch. Gordin was prolific
elsewhere, being the father of 11
children.
When Zangwill first visited the
U. S. Gordin apologized for noi
calling on him. "You see, I am
the father of 11 children." "Tush,
Tush." replied Zangwill, "I am
the father of the 'Children of the
Ghetto.'"
The American stage owes not a
little to the Yiddish stage. Paul
Muni and John Garfield were on
Second Avenue before they went
to Broadway.
Some of the sages of the Tal
mud condemned the theatre,
while others praised it. (The
theatre did not go unallacked in
the non-Jewish world as well. In
many New England communities,
plays were banned.)
One form of the Yiddish play
going on for centuries is the
“purim spiel.”
Shakespeare took the plot of his
"Merchant of Venice" from an
Italian play in which the man
who wanted the pound of flesh
was an Italian grandee, and the
poor sufferer was a Jew. The
"grandee" resented the fact that
the daughter of the Jew had re
jected his courtship. Shakespeare
simply reversed the characters,
made the Jew the money lender
and the Christian the sufferer.
For more than a generation,
Charles Frohman who went down
on the Titanic, saying ‘‘death is
a beautiful adventure,” was
America’s most prominent pro
ducer. Charles’ father, who came
over with the “forty-eighters”
from Germany, also entertained
histrionic ambitions, but never
realized them. In his old age, he
used to hang around his son’s
theatres.
Once Charles Frohman noted
the seedy overcoat of his father
and told him to go to. his own
tailor and have a new one made.
But the elder Frohman said he
would never consent to pay or
BEST WISHES
COX UPHOLSTERY
FREE PICK UP AND DELIVERY
Easy Terms
Ph. 4-7327 1448 Liberty
The cleansing and soothing action of
JOHN R. DICKEY’S
OLD RELIABLE EYE WASH
brings quick relief to burning, smarting,
over-worked eyes. 35c & 50c at drug stores.
DICKEY DRUG COMPANY, BRISTOL, VA.
ALONZO'S
Spaghetti House.
FOR THE BEST ITALIAN FOOD
AND PIZZA
5944 New Beach Bivd.
at Lovegrove Road
PHONE 9-9233
SPECIAL ORDERS TAKEN
THE SOUTHERN JEWISH WEEKLY
let his son pay SIOO for an over
coat for him. Charles Frohman
assured his father that his tailor
would only charge him $20.00.
Secretly, he made up the differ
ence with the tailor. So old Mr.
Frohman got his SIOO.OO coat. A
week later, he was wearing his
old seedy one again. When his son
questioned him the elder Froh
man chuckled. "Everybody thinks
I am no business man, but I sold
my new overcoat for $40.00 so I
made $20.00 profit.
On hjs first trip to America Fer
enc Molnar, the Hungarian Jew
ish playwright, was taken by the
Hungarian Ambassador for a visit
to President Coolidge. The Presi
dent asked Molnar about political
conditions in Hungary. Molnar
turned to the Ambassador and
said in Hungarian: “You know I
don’t know anything about such
matters. I will simply keep talk
ing about other things and you
can pretend to be listening to me
and give your own answer to the
President’s question, representing
it as a translation of my remarks.
The President later told Molnar
MAKE RESERVATIONS NOW!
For Choice Accommodations
Duncraggan Inn
HENDERSONVILLE, N. C.
World Famous Cuisine
American Plan Beginning at S6O
Weekly. May 30th to Oct. Ist.
Brochure on request.
Your Hosts, Blanche & Sid Lewis
Announcing the Opening
of the 31st Season
THE HOROWITZ
KOSHER INN
All Rooms with Private and
Connecting Baths
In the Land of the Skies
Under Personal Supervision of
MRS. A. HOROWITZ
DIAL 9206
331 First Ave., W.
HENDERSONVILLE, N. C.
SPEND YOUR SUMMER
VACATION IN THE
BLUE RIDGE
MOUNTAINS
OSCEOLA
LAKE Dffl
on Lake Osceola
Hendersonville, N. C.
JOE RUBIN
Owner-Manager
Season Now 'Til Oct. Ist
Special Low Rates
American Plan Only
Finest Jewish-American
Cuisine
All Rooms with Bath or
Shower
Private Swimming Pool
Boating Fishing
Carolina's Finest Mountain Resort
IA!C£SISi
salllM
It** cooler at laltetide lon. Private lake,
pool, nearby golf course,'boating, fish
ing, tennii, nightly dancing, entertain
ment. Top* for summer living. Write for
# m § m
TOiOfi; raiwit
Tour Host* - The SECAt FAMILY
that he thought his analysis of
Hungarian political conditions
very good.
Israel Zangwill once said that
if Moses were to return to the
earth, he would probably be not
a political leader but a play
wright.
MEAT FOR
ASSIMILATIONISTS
Belgium’s citizenship laws are
the strictest in the world, but in
their application they are most
vigorously directed against Jews.
Under Belgium law only about
300 persons are annually permit-
BEST WISHES
JOSIAH M. JORDAN
Certified Public Accountant
205 St. Johns Apt. Bldg.
Jacksonville, Fla.
VERY BEST WISHES
PEARL STREET
PHARMACY
E. J. Pierce, Prop.
Bth end Pearl Street
PHONE 5-0083
IDBBS &. Company
INCORPORATED
Insurance
21 N. Julia Street Telephone 3-5593
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA
GUARANTEED
Used Cars, Any Make or Model
Wholesale Prices from SIOO - s3oo*
Lower in Cost than on today's market
ALSO NEW CHRYSLERS & PLYMOUTHS
at
QUIGLEY MOTORS, he.
Orange Park, Fla. Phone 112-8-2611
WOODLAND PARK COLORADO
TRIPLE B RANCH
Are you seeking a vacation where the whole family is welcome? Where
you find supervision and "sitting" for the kiddies while Mom and Dad
vacation too? Come to the Triple B, a mountain ranch high in tha
Rockies of the Pikes Peak Region. A scenic, heaithly setting for the
vacation of a life time. Free of meal-time and child-care worries, fitted
with all the ranch activities, riding, sports, pack trips, fishing, etc.
Write for free, illustrated booklet to the above address.
Send Your Boy or Girl to a Top Jewish Camp
CAMP BELLE AIRE
ON TOP OF THE CUMBERLAND MOUNTAINS
SPARTA, TENNESSEE
For Boys and Girls Juniors lntermediates Seniors
Swimming surf board water skiing fencing archery tennis.
Canoeing baseball volley ball dancing aesthetic dancing folk
dancing art art and crafts photography —t dramatics riflery
badminton horseback riding charm school football basketball
«pong nature lore trips out fishing.
on 1953 Camp Season (Jane 28 through August 23) 8450 for 8 weeks
or $250 for four weeks (June 28th to July 26th or from July 26th to
August 23rd)
For further information contact BEA (MRS. REUBEN) KOMISAR,
owner-director, Woodmont Blvd. (Near 23rd Ave. So.)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
ted to become naturalized. Most
of the applicants in recent years
have been Jews and most of them
were rewarded with rejection
slips, and in most instances on the
flimsiest of excuses. In some case
naturalization papers were turn
ed down because investigators
discovered the applicants were
speaking Yiddish. In some cases
the rejection was based on the
ground that the applicants were
found to be members of the Zion
ist organization. The thesis in
those instances was that the ap
plicants were not qualified for
official absorption because they
were not sufficiently assimilated.
Glasses By Expert Opticians
Mayfair Opticians
PAUL S. LOCKERMAN, JR.
Prescriptions Filled
Lenses Duplicated
219 MAIN STREET
PHONE 6-0483
PERSONALIZED
LAUNDRY SERVICE
PHONE 8-7791
Throw
qb*
c/ Laundry
Cor. Flagler & Mary Sts.
South Jacksonville
Page Seven