- HomeHome
- New York's Yiddish Theater New York's Yiddish Theater
- Poland's Yiddish TheaterPoland's Yiddish Theater
- The Dybbuk and the Theater Museum The Dybbuk and the Theater Museum
- Visionaries of Poland's Yiddish Avant-GardeVisionaries of Poland's Yiddish Avant-Garde
- Literary Theater Troupes/Miniature TheaterLiterary Theater Troupes/Miniature Theater
- Yiddish Plays on Poland's Avant-Garde StageYiddish Plays on Poland's Avant-Garde Stage
- Translations and AdaptationsTranslations and Adaptations
- THE ERK Yiddish Theater Museum ( Warsaw 1926)THE ERK Yiddish Theater Museum ( Warsaw 1926)
- TimelineTimeline
- AboutAbout
1925, The Highpoint of Commercial Yiddish theater in America
Description
In the 1920s, as Yiddish-speaking immigrants moved from the Lower East Side to other New York neighborhoods, the Yiddish theater followed. Brooklyn's Lyric Theater regularly played host to Yiddish theater.
Title
1925, The Highpoint of Commercial Yiddish theater in America
Description
1925 in American Yiddish Theater Life
While Second Avenue in Manhattan became synonymous with Yiddish theater, Yiddish theater spread into New York City’s five boroughs, following the migration of its mostly Jewish patrons. Four Yiddish theater houses opened in Brooklyn and another four opened in Upper Manhattan and the Bronx. This brought the tally of the number of active Yiddish theater houses in New York City to its height at 14. In the late 1920s, Yiddish theater in New York City began to contract, and by the 1940s, the rate of this shrinking intensified. One important reason for this was language. As Jewish immigrants in the United States learned English and sought to assimilate they lost their mastery of Yiddish. Other reasons account for the theater's diminishing audiences. Since the turn of the century, new boat loads of immigrants replenished the numbers of those audience members who went the way of linguistic assimilation, sustaining the level of New York's Yiddish speakers. The Immigration Act of 1924 stopped this process when it closed the gates to Jewish immigrants. Also, the rise of the moving-pictures--both English- and Yiddish-language movies-- served another blow to theater audiences. While the Yiddish theater itself contracted, it fed English-language entertainment and the budding Yiddish-langauge film business with stores of talent, actors and writers, many of whom began their careers in the Yiddish theater only to move into other areas of American entertainment industry.
While Second Avenue in Manhattan became synonymous with Yiddish theater, Yiddish theater spread into New York City’s five boroughs, following the migration of its mostly Jewish patrons. Four Yiddish theater houses opened in Brooklyn and another four opened in Upper Manhattan and the Bronx. This brought the tally of the number of active Yiddish theater houses in New York City to its height at 14. In the late 1920s, Yiddish theater in New York City began to contract, and by the 1940s, the rate of this shrinking intensified. One important reason for this was language. As Jewish immigrants in the United States learned English and sought to assimilate they lost their mastery of Yiddish. Other reasons account for the theater's diminishing audiences. Since the turn of the century, new boat loads of immigrants replenished the numbers of those audience members who went the way of linguistic assimilation, sustaining the level of New York's Yiddish speakers. The Immigration Act of 1924 stopped this process when it closed the gates to Jewish immigrants. Also, the rise of the moving-pictures--both English- and Yiddish-language movies-- served another blow to theater audiences. While the Yiddish theater itself contracted, it fed English-language entertainment and the budding Yiddish-langauge film business with stores of talent, actors and writers, many of whom began their careers in the Yiddish theater only to move into other areas of American entertainment industry.
Rights
YIVO owns the compilation of content that is posted on this website, which consists of text, images, and/or audio, and video. However, YIVO does not necessarily own each component of the compilation. Some content is in the public domain and some content is protected by third party rights. It is the user's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in YIVO websites.
The materials on this web site may be used for personal, research and educational purposes only. Publication (including posting on the Internet and online exhibitions) or any other use without prior authorization is prohibited. Please visit https://www.yivo.org/Rights-Reproductions for more information about use of materials from this website.
YIVO has employed due diligence in seeking to identify copyright holders of the materials in this compilation. We invite any copyright owners who are not properly identified to contact us at yivomail@yivo.cjh.org.
Citation
“1925, The Highpoint of Commercial Yiddish theater in America ,” YIVO Online Exhibitions, accessed April 18, 2024, https://ataleoftwomuseums.yivo.org/items/show/2976.