Story of Detroit's Yiddish Theater, Published by
THE DETRO IT
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D September
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,repi
22,H 1967
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Traces Important Developments in Jewish Community
•
Wayne State University's newest
publication, "The Detroit Yiddish
Theater, 1920 to 1937," recon-
structs interesting chapters in this
community's history and brings!
back recollections of a period that
involved the concerns of immi-1
grants, their language, the emo-,
tional attitudes as expressed on ,
the stage,.
James Albert Miller, the author
of his historical review of an im-
portant era in Detroit Jewish his-
tory, is Irish-Canadian. He is pres-
ently the scenic artist for the J.
LATE ABRAHAM LITTMAN
L. Hudson Co. and a Wayne State
University part-time speech instruc-
tor. Ile earned his PhD at WSU
and is a member of the Speech As-
sociation of America and the Michi-
gan Academy of Science, Arts and
Letters.
He became interested in the
theater in 1924 and was employ-
ed in the Yiddish theater here.
To do proper research for this
volume he learned Yiddish. Ha
befriended many people who
were connected with the Yiddish
stage here.
In "The Detroit Yiddish Thea-
ter" he deals at great length with
the career of Abraham Littman,
who more than any other person
devoted his life towards the estab-
lishment of the Yiddish theater
here and its preservation.
This volume is an account of
the many years of triumph for the
Yiddish stage, of the decline, its
defense, the effort to revive it
and to keep it alive in the course
of which a community committee
was formed to obtain the neces-
sary funds. It was of no avail; of
course. as the developing condi-
tions indicated in the resulting de-
cline of immigration which was
the source for Yiddish theater at-
tendants and the equally rapid de-
cline of the use of the Yiddish
language.
The years under review in Dr.
Miller's book include the flourish-
ing period during which the giants
of the Yiddish stage in this coun-
try came to Detroit to perform in
popular productions, as well as the
years of decline. The author des-
cribes the activities in the Hast-
ings Street Yiddish Playhouse,
which commenced in 1920; the old
Circle Theater activities on Hast-
ings Street, the transfer of activi-
ties to the Majestic Theater, the
subsequent formation of Littman's
People's Theater on Twelfth Street,
the performances at Orchestra Hall'
and later at the Masonic Temple.
They were trying but interesting'
years for all who were concerned
with the perpetuation of the Yid-
dish theater and incidentally—for
some primarily—the retention Of
Yiddish as the medium of expres-
sion for the masses of the Jewish
people.
Those who remember the Yid-
dish theater era will recall that
Abraham Cogut and Julius Pearl
played important roles in the
functions of the local theater.
Too little is said about them.
The emphasis on Abraham Litt-
man's leadership is deserving,
but Mr. Pearl, a printer, made
so many sacrifices for the thea- -
ter and devoted so much time
to it that the mere mention of
•
him hi this book is ‹ardly suf-
ficient.
Nevertheless, the history as de-
lineated here by a non-Jew who
has mastered knowledge about a
vital historic factor it Detroit Jew-
ry presents a fascinating chapter
that will stir the reminiscences of
the elders who are acquainted
with the episodes related and will
enlighten those who are uninform-
ed about a deep interest in the
stage on which the language was
Yiddish among many thousands
who predominated in our commun-
ity at that time.
There is immense value in Dr.
Miller's serious effort at tracing
the origin of Yiddish theatrical
enterprises. His fairly thorough
and accurate compilation of the
major plays that were featured on
Yiddish theater marquees for more
than a generation. The plays by
Peretz Hirshbein, Jacob Gordin,
Sholem Asch, Abraham Goldfaden,
Isadore Zolotarefsky, and many
others; the appearances of the
Habima of Moscow, the Vilna
Troupe; the productions that were
inspired by the hopes for a re-
deemed homeland and those that
were occasioned by the persecu-
tions and the sufferings — Dr.
Miller's survey is a history of the
Yiddish theater in general.
Primarily, his book is the
story of Detroit Jewry's interest
in the theater, its language, its
aims at assuring the continua-
tion of an id that was so sped-
fically Jewish. There is strong
emphasis in the Miller story on
the role that was played by the
former Jewish Chronicle and its
editor in giving encouragement
to the sponsors of the Yiddish
theater and in propagating sup-
port for that theater.
The most widely quoted of all
sources :referred to by Dr. Miller
is the Chronicle and the editorials
of its editor (now The Jewish News
editor) form a basis for the major
sources that were utilized in offer-
ing the history of the Detroit Yid-
dish Theater. Dr. Miller points out
that during the iepression Philip
Slomovitz "cheered the troupe in
perilous times . . . gave cheering
words to the embattled players and
courageously pleaded the cause of
Yiddish culture in the columns of
his paper." He shows how "dur-
ing the most trying days of the
Yiddish theater when disaster
seemed imminent Mr. Slomovitz
rallied to the defense of the theater
by means of editorials in his
paper."
Some of these quoted articles
are of special interest at this time
as echoes of a long-forgotten per-
iod but at the same time as indi-
cations that Yiddish still was a
great influence in Jewish ranks at
that time.
This history, therefore, is a
story of triumphs at the time
that Yiddish predominated as the
language of the masses, of
struggle when that success began
to evaporate, of despair when it
became apparent that the end of
that theatrical era and the de-
cline of Yiddish was not only
imminent but was already in full
evidence.
Dr. Miller does more than re-
view the history of the Yiddish
theater. He also analyzes the chang-
ing Jewish neighborhoods—it was
especially in evidence as a result
of the Yiddish theater's movements
from Hastings to Twelfth, to Wood-
ward, to the Masonic Temple —
and of the ghetto concepts as they
underwent transformations in the
Detroit Jewish community.
The manner in which the late
Abraham Littman operated, the
visiting companies he brought to
Detroit, the noted stars who ap-
peared here under his direction—
the Thomashefskys, the Adlers,
Bertha Kalich, Maurice Schwartz
and his Art Troupe, Jacob Ben-
Ami, Menashe Skulnik, Rudolf
Schlidkraut, Molly Picon and many
others—are part of the portrayed
theatrical story. Many of the names
of actors who became very popu-
lar here — Arko , Yablokoff, Ber-
nardi, Michalesko, Lebedeff, Fuchs,
Fishzon and many others—are part
of the interesting record.
Among the giants of the theater
who appeared with the Detroit
Yiddish troupe was Paul Muni. He
then still played under the name
Muni Weisenfreund, as a Yiddish
actor , before going to the English
stage and the movies in both of
which he became world famous.-
The roles of the stock com-
panies, of the playwrights, many
of whom visited Detroit, of the
eminent stars who became world
famous, and the community in-
terests that became interlinked
with the projects—all combine
to make a most impressive story.
When the Littman Theater was
dedicated on Twelfth and Sew-
ard, Mayor John W. Smith, Rab-
bi A. M. Hershman, David Brown,
Fred Butzel, Judge Harry Keidan,
Reuben Gaskin of the Hebrew
Actors Union were the speakers.
The numerous stories from the
Chronicle, written by its editor,
quoted at length in the Miller
story, relate the developing condi-
tions that affected the Yiddish
theater here.
Then came the period of de-
cline, the menacing situations that
threatened the theater's existence,
and there is a record in this vol-
ume of the formation of a com-
munity committee that was headed
by Rabbi Morris Adler, Louis La-
Med and Joseph Bernstein, in an
effort to rescue the theater and to
assure its existence.
Dr. Miller's historical review of
the Yiddish theater includes a
series of biographical sketches of
the leading actors and of Mr. Litt-
man. It is supplemented by a com-
plete set of statistics about per-
formances, the benefit shows which
were popular among local organi-
zations, the attendance records,
the actors, the plays and the play-
wrights and the. explanatory notes
similarly serve a valuable purpose.
Dr. Miller, in Ube thorough
study he had made of the Yid-
dish theater and the status of
the English language, made note
of the prediction that was made
as early as 1899 by Prof. Leo
Wiener, in his study of the his-
tory of Yiddish literature, that
Yiddish could not survive, that
"it is doubtful whether the Yid-
dish theater can subsist another
10 years." It subsisted another
40 years and it was only recent-
ly that the Yiddish theater final-
ly practically collapsed in New
York City. But it is still flourish-
ing in Israel.
The author presents his views,
in his concluding comments, on the
reasons for the decline of the Yid-
dish theater. He pays due honor
to the Yiddish playhouse for the
services it had rendered and he
shows how the drastic curbs on
immigration and the resultant de-
cline in the use of Yiddish as a
medium of expression by Jews led
to the end of the theater here.
Dr. Miller performed an excel-
lent service with his study. "The
Yiddish Theater, 1920 to 1937" is
a valuable addition to the publish-
ed historical record of this Jewish
community.
Protestant Emory U.
to Set Up Judaics Chair
ATLANTA, Ga. (JTA)—Emory
University will establish a chair of
Judaic studies as part of its pro-
gram for mobilizing educational re-
sources and ideas for tomorrow,
William R. Bowdoin, chairman of
the university's merit program an-
nounced today.
Emory, a Protestant religious-
affiliated institution, has a student
body of about 5,000.. Two Atlanta
alumni, Dr. Irving H. Goldstein
and Max Rittenbaum, will head a
committee to seek $500,000 to en-
dow the chair.
Dr. Jack Boozer, chairman of
the Emory Department of Religion,
said the addition of a noted Jewish
scholar to the faculty would "tre-
mendously enrich the program of
the department." He said the scho-
lar who would fill the chair would
be available to teach courses root-
ed in the traditions of Judaic
thought."
From time to time, he said, visit-
ing professors from the Hebrew
University in Jerusalem would as-
sist in teaching and Emory would
seek to encourage student ex-
changes with the Hebrew Univer-
sity, "opening the door to new
light and new learning."
$15 Million Loan to Bank
in Israel to Aid Lending
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The
World Bank announced a loan equi-
valent to $15,000,000 to the Indus-
trial Development Bank of Israel,
Ltd., (IDBI). The loan is the bank's
second to the IDBI. It will provide
a portion of the funds required
for lending operations in Israel up
to the end of 1968.
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