Broadway Linked With Best of Second Avenue in 'Zulu and Zayda: Starring Menasha Skulnik By Philip Slomovitz NEW YORK, N.Y.—Dan Jacob- son belongs to the group of liberty- loving writers who defied the in- justices of their native land to con- demn apartheid. He is one of the group of angered Jewish novelists who were compelled to leave South Africa and from their self-imposed exile—Jacobson now lives in Eng- land—expose the crime of racial prejudice. Jacobson's "The Zulu and the Zayda" is one of his brilliant nar- ratives. When the short story first appeared in one of his collected narratives, this reviewer hailed it as a brilliant carrier of the message of equality among all men. Now it has been brought to the stage, and when the play starts its run in the Court Theater here on 48+1-1 Street next Tuesday it should prove one of the great sensations of the year. * * * "The Zulu and the Zayda" was given an enthusiastic reception at a pre-opening performance Mon- day night. A packed house cheered the cast headed by the master Suit Against Transfer a,‘ Historical Scty. Ends; Will Move to Brandeis WALTHAM, Mass. (J-TA) — A lengthy internal dispute in the American Jewish Historical Socie- 'T over moving its headquarters from New York to the Brandeis University campus was reported by the university as ended with dismissal of a suit against the transfer filed in federal court. With transfer obstacles remov- ed, the Society asked a New York architectural firm to prepare pre- liminary designs for a headquar- ters building for the 73-year-old research and publication organiza- 4 jr\n. The university made the site available to the Society. The building will be named for the late Lee M. Friedman of Bos- ton, former president of the Socie- ty, who left the bulk of his estate - t the Society. Funds for the building were provided in his will. Leon J. Obermayer, Society president, told the Jewish Tele- graphic Agency that the will left the Society about $1,600.- ^a0, of which about $600,000 would be used for the new head- quarters building. He said he could not give a date for the start of construction on the new structure because a deter- mination must be made by the Surrogate Court in Boston on whe- ther the transfer of the headquar- ters in any way violates the terms of the will. He explained that the will stipu- 'Plied that the bequest was contin- gent on the Society remaining an independent organization and that the Society preferred to obtain a formal court ruling before pro- ceeding. He added that a friendly suit had been filed in the Surrogate Court for a determination and that, since there was no litigation in- voled. an early ruling was expect- ed. He stated that the indepen- rlence of the Society was assured in . the arrangements with Bran- deis University. The decision to relocate the headquarters was made by the Society's executive council after an extended analysis of possible locations in a number of cities. The vote confirmed earlier deci- sions of the executive council and a referendum of the Society's mem- bership. 7:1E DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 10—Friday, November 5, 1965 An additional 90,000 were given disability discharges from the Armed Forces because of heart ailments, says the Michigan Heart Association, a Michigan United Fund Agency. comedian, Menasha Skulnik, who, elderly Jew's refusal to accept the as the Zayda, links to Broadway indignities that go with bigotry. the best of Second Avenue. When the Zayda is arrested with a group of black men because he has gone to their house contrary to apartheid regulations, and is kept separated from them even in his incarceration, he shouts: "I belong in their cage." In this one outcry is enshrined a Jewish ideal of commiseration with the down- trodden. * * * MENASHA SK ULNIK Skulnik is compared to Maurice Schwartz, the genius of the Yiddish Art Theater, in a very important volume that has just made its ap- pearance — "The Yiddish Theater in America" by Prof. David S. Lifson. As the Zayda, Skulnik proves his skill in depicting pathos, in delineating the comical, in his introduction of the most human elements of the theater. Those who have known Skul- nik on the Yiddish stage, will see him bring back his jests, his dances, his songs—the hops that have made him famous— the walks that caused him to be called "the Yiddish Charlie Chaplin," in this unusual per- formance. It is a play that commences with creation of the "Zayda-sitter" when the Zulu, Paulus, so marvel- ously portrayed by Louis Gossett, is brought to Johannesburg to be the companion of the Zayda who, during his brief stay with his chil- dren, is constantly getting lost. Then begins the hilarity of a pair that does not speak the same lan- guage getting to know and to love each other — the Zayda speaking Yiddish to the Zulu, the latter responding in his dialect, soon both fully understanding one another. The central theme is the revul- sion against apartheid, the expose of the ugliness of race hatred, the The trilingual factors in the play add to the fun. The Yiddish- English-Zulu dialect combinations are not without their delight. And the songs — including the "Oisgezeichent"—truly give to the performance the producer's sought- after "out-of-this-world flavor." * * * To Dore Schary, the director of the play, should be given great credit for another great theatrical product. It takes much courage to link Yiddish with English — and with tribal gib- berish — and to absorb again into the dignity of Broadway t h e folk ideas of the Yiddish melo- dramas. It has been said that "shund" has helped to ruin the Yiddish the- ater. There may be an element of the Yiddish Dore Schary burlesque in "The Zulu and the Zayda," but the lesson taught by this play, the exposing of the South African identification card as a symbol of enslavement, the inter- pretive melodies emphasizing a love for life, the absorption of Yid- dish as part of a great social theme —these turn the new play into another Broadway sensation. Ossie Davis as Johannes, Paulus' brother; Joe Silver as Harry Gross- man, the Zayda's father: and a splendid supporting cast, assure a long success for a good play. And Menasha Skulnik with Ossie Davis and Louis Gossett help provide such assurance. Churchill Forest A 300,000-tree forest in memory of Sir Winston Churchill will be planted near Nazareth by the Jew- ish National Fund, with the help of British Jewry. Melvin Weisz C. L. U. Man of the Month IT IS A PLEASURE TO ANNOUNCE THAT MELVIN WEISZ, C. L. U. HAS received the man-of-the-month award as the most out- standing Representative of our Detroit-Gold agency for the month of October. The award is in recognition of his excellent service to his policyholders and our Agency during the month of October. RUBEN GOLD, C.L.U. - GENERAL AGENT 20800 Greenfield Road 564-5275 MASSACHUSETTS MUTUAL Royal Oak .Effe Insurance Companst SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS • ORGANIZED ISM PLAN NOW FOR AMERICAN JEWISH CONGRESS 1966—World on a String Tours (Departures each month) ISRAEL & EUROPE — 29 DAYS $995 Israel, Italy, France, Switzerland Other Itineraries include: London, Scandinavia, USSR, Greece, Mexico Special Tour Meeting for Prospective Travelers Thursday, Nov. 11, 1965 — 8:15 p.m. at the JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER — ROOM 384 You are Cordially invited to Attend BETTY ALDERSON, National AJC Tour Director Will Offer Complete Details of Our Exciting Tours. For Complete Information and Invitation to Tour Meeting Call WO 5-3319 or write American Jewish Congress 163 Madison Avenue Detroit Michigan 48226 AN HISTORIC COMMUNITY EVENT HAYIM GREENBERG SCHOOL GOLDEN JUBILEE DINNER SUNDAY EVENING= NOVEMBER 14th, 1965 6:00 P.M. MORRIS L. SCHAVER AUDITORIUM LABOR ZIONIST INSTITUTE 19161 Schaefer Highway * * * * * * DEDICATED TO HARRY AND ADELE MONDRY * * * * * * . GUEST SPEAKER RABBI MORRIS ADLER Educator, Author, Orator Spiritual Leader, Shaarey Zedek Synagogue GUEST ARTIST MASHA BENYA MASHA BENYA Dramatic Soprano RABBI MORRIS ADLER FOR RESERVATIONS CALL SCHOOL OFFICE UN 4-6319 After completing a 12 month run in Israel as the star of I recently arrived in the United States to do W HAT'S MY NAME? "MY FAIR LADY" THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW For the answer turn to Page 13