Known initially for their operettas, the brothers saw the mass appeal of revues and used their theaters to present many up and coming performers, some of whom, like Al Jolson, emerged as major stars. Maytime (1917), Blossom Time (1921) and Big Boy (1925) were among the most successful early musicals to come from the Shubert brothers.
The Shubert Organization, now run by the nonprofit Shubert Foundation, continues to play a major role in theater today, owning 17 theaters and actively producing new shows, including many on Broadway.
Oscar Hammerstein was also one of the premiere impresarios at the turn of the 20th century, later opening opera houses and theaters in Philadelphia and London, while producing a few shows and operettas at his own New York theaters. A jack of all trades, Hammerstein was an inventor, writer, editor, publisher, composer, speculator, designer, 24
1. Immigration, Yiddish Theater and Building Broadway builder, promoter, showman and one of the most prominent forces in American theatre.
Having made a fortune in the cigar industry, Hammerstein started out by moonlighting as a theater manager at venues showing German operas, and in some cases presenting some of his own plays. Near the end of the 19th century, he built the first of two theaters in the largely unsettled Harlem area, the Harlem Opera House on 125th Street. He would then move downtown with the opening of the Manhattan Opera House on 34th Street. In what would become Times Square, he opened the lavish Olympia Theater, followed shortly thereafter by the Victoria and the Republic. A few years later, both the Victoria and Republic would have roof gardens.
Despite some failures along the way, Hammerstein’s theaters would become some of the premiere show palaces on Broadway for many decades. Even though his own personal passion was opera, his theaters would become venues for all genres of theatrical shows. Hammerstein would later become known as the Father of Times Square. (More on both Hammerstein and the Shuberts, in the next chapter on vaudeville.) The other significant Jewish theater family, the Nederlanders, first established their presence in 1912 when David Nederlander acquired the lease of the Detroit Opera House. They would soon move to Broadway where their impact would be felt for the rest of the century and beyond.
Now in the third generation of theater ownership, James Nederlander, known in and around the industry as Jimmy, heads the organization which now controls not only several Broadway theaters but theaters in other U.S. cities as well as in London.
Approaching the age of ninety, Jimmy has been involved in the family business since the 1940s. Some 300 shows later, having received a Tony Award for lifetime achievement in 2004, he remains one of the luminaries of the business. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Jimmy, working with him and being his partner in the Palace Theater for more than 30 years.
THE EARLY SHOWS
And then there were the shows and the stars of the early years of the 20th century. Florodora was the hit of the era, running for over 550
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Jews on Broadway
performances, while The Wizard of Oz debuted onstage in 1903 for nearly 300 performances and was followed shortly thereafter by Babes in Toyland which ran for 192 performances. But it was Shakespeare’s Hamlet that drew even more attention for the casting of the world-famous actress Sarah Bernhardt, who performed the show in French. Bernhardt had appeared on Broadway before, as Roxanne in Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac, as well as in some French productions.
The French-born Bernhardt, of Jewish heritage, was baptized and raised in a convent. In her teens, she would try her hand at both comedy and tragedy as well as burlesque before emerging as a star in France in the 1860s. For the next four decades, she would perform in a wide variety of plays worldwide, making some appearances in United States. While she was heralded as a brilliant actress, her Broadway presentation of Hamlet, however, was not a favorite of the critics or the audiences. Frustrated, Bernhardt would return to France. She would come back to the United States and Broadway several years later in various roles, including a brief stint in vaudeville. More than just a legendary stage performer and queen of the tragic dramatic roles, Bernhardt was also a promoter, producer, sculp ture, artist and, like Bessie Thomashefsky, a woman who transformed the role of women in theater to a higher level than that of the many showgirls in the popular follies.
Alla Nazimova was another Jewish actress of the era who made an impact on Broadway. The daughter of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Nazi -
mova was already a theatrical star in Moscow, and in other parts of Eur -
ope, when she first appeared in productions on the Lower East Side, but not in Yiddish. Instead, she performed in Russian, in a theater she helped establish.
As Yiddish theater grew and embraced the classics of Henrik Ibsen and George Bernard Shaw, among other playwrights, Broadway theatergo -
ers would soon follow suit, and it was Nazimova who would star in Hedda Gabler in 1906 and A Doll’s House the following year. While she would later emerge as a major star of the silent film era, making a weekly salary of $13,000, unheard of for that time period, Nazi mova would return to Broadway to reprise the two Ibsen shows as well as appear in Anton Chek -
hov’s The Cherry Orchard and later on in The Good Earth. So power ful were her performances that the Shuberts named one of their thea ters The Nazimova, in her honor, until she signed with their rivals, the syndicate.
26
1. Immigration, Yiddish Theater and Building Broadway It was also during the early years of the 20th century that a talented Jewish playwright came upon the scene in New York City. His name was David Belasco, and he grew up in San Francisco as a Sephardic Jew.
Interested in theater, he made his way across the country to New York City. Over the span of 46 years, starting in the 1880s, he would write, produce and/or direct over one hundred Broadway plays including Madame Butterfly. While Belasco was never a part of the Yiddish theater (although his father-in-law Morris Gest was a producer), he did bring some of the real-life experiences depicted in Yiddish theater to the Broadway stage.
Belasco was also a theater manager and owner, taking over Hammerstein’s Theatre Republic in 1902. He later sold the theater and it was once again named the Republic. He later went on to build more theaters in New York and in other cities.
The Influence of Yiddish Theater on Broadway
While Broadway theater had been around before the emergence of Yiddish theater in America, the latter would have a significant influence on English- speaking theater. It was the playwright Gordin, along with actor Jacob P. Adler, who brought the classics of Ibsen, Tolstoy and Shaw to America in Yiddish theater before they emerged on Broadway. Shakespeare and other classic works had been performed, but a broader scope of “sophisticated” works shined on the Yiddish stages and drew the attention of American producers and theater owners, many of whom were Jewish and were very tuned into what was happening on Yiddish Broadway. The domestic dramas would also find their home on Broadway in the form of timely plays about social and political issues.
Although the language barriers prevented many of the Yiddish theater stars from successfully making the crossover to Broadway, some did find ways of making the transition. Jacob P. Adler, as mentioned earlier, proved that it could be done, and done well, when he took the character Shylock to Broadway (in Yiddish) in The Merchant of Venice. Meanwhile, Bertha Kalish was able to use her powerful singing voice and multi-lin-gual ability to enjoy success on both stages, while the diminutive Molly Picon, who became a legend in vaudeville and on the English-speaking 27
Jews on Broadway
stages for decades, learned Yiddish at a young age and was able to criss-cross back and forth between the two genres. Actor Paul Muni would also make his start in Yiddish theater in 1907, at the age of 12, under his given name Moony Weisenfreund. He would make the transition to Broadway in a 1926 in a play entitled We Americans and just a few years later would embark on a film career that would extend over three decades.
The most profound influence of Y
iddish theater upon Broadway, how ever, came not only from the performers on stage but from those watch ing from the audience or in the wings, experiencing and learning about theater. A young Stella Adler and a boy named Lee Strasberg were both influenced by their early Yiddish theater experiences. Many Jew ish performers, especially those who later became stars of vaudeville, saw their first shows in Yiddish the aters while growing up on the Lower East Side. While they eventually emanated toward the American theater, many were heavily influenced by these early experiences on Second Avenue.
The Jewish humor — personal, relatable and typically based on day-today encounters — became commonplace in vaude ville and in comedies on Broadway for generations, as well as in various media from The Goldbergs on radio in the 1930s to Seinfeld on television in the 1990s.
The music of Broadway and what became known as Tin Pan Alley also had underpinnings from the klezmer music and operettas brought over from Eastern Europe and first heard on the Yiddish stages. The likes of Irving Berlin and George Gershwin, among other noted composers (dis cussed in Chapter 3, on the great Jewish composers and lyricists), also benefited from their early Yiddish theater experiences.
For the Jewish people, theater became part of their American culture, with Yiddish theater expanding into the other boroughs of New York, as well as around the country. For the Jewish immigrants who had been chased from their homelands, whose cultural and religious institutions had been shut down, theater was a rare opportunity for freedom of expression, an opportunity to communicate that which was stifled in so many parts of the world. On stage, they could not only retell the stor -
ies of pain and suffering, but rejoice in song and laugh at life’s many foi -
bles. Whether one spoke Yiddish or not, the theater was a cultural resource and it provided the glue that held a poor, somewhat destitute immi grant community together. That community grew stronger and 28
1. Immigration, Yiddish Theater and Building Broadway future generations of Jewish performers emerged, wanting to take to the stage and communicate through music, lyrics, comedy and/or dramatic pre sen tations. It was this Yiddish community that served as the foun -
dation for the many years of Jewish involvement in theater that would follow.
29
2
Part of the Melting Pot:
From Vaudeville to Broadway
It’s not uncommon for teenagers to find new and invigorating forms of entertainment, including those that might be considered objectionable by their parents. Such youthful rebellion was just as common a century ago as it is today. In the early years of the 20th century, the Jewish immigrants toiled away, working long hours to put food on the table while living in overcrowded ghetto conditions in Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
For them, Yiddish theater remained a sanctuary second only to temple, a place to grasp the culture brought forth from Europe and a means of embracing the rich traditions that make up Judaism. It was an opportunity to celebrate freedom, having seen many of their theaters shut down under oppressive foreign rule.
Yet, while Yiddish theater thrived, a newer temptress began to seduce the younger generation, with the lure of glamour, fame and money, in this, the land of prosperity. The allure was vaudeville, a term culled from a phrase popularized in France during the 15th century, “Un chanson du Vau de Vire,” meaning “A Song of the Valley of Vire.” This phrase referred to popular drinking songs and songs with barbed satire and topical humor. By the end of the century the term “vaudevire” had emerged, which later became vaudeville.1
Unlike the traditional and secular works found on the stages of Yiddish theater, vaudeville was the epitome of the great American melting pot, welcoming immigrants of all nationalities. The phenomenon had begun in the late 1870s and had gained enormous acceptance throughout the United States. Vaudeville was culled from various sources including the Barnum and Bailey Circus, with the idea of presenting numerous, 30
2. Part of the Melting Pot
diverse acts of all types in one show. There were vestiges of minstrel shows, complete with blackface and street performers, who had sung and danced for coins, now earning money and having a roof over their heads.
Having moved much of mainstream entertainment out of saloons and into respectable theaters, vaudeville was billed as entertainment for the masses. It was run by shrewd entrepreneurs who served as managers and knew how to work the “bottom line” and make money by giving the public a bevy of performers on one bill. Between seven and fifteen acts might perform on a given night, including jugglers, acrobats, song and dance teams, musicians, solo singers, comedy teams, novelty acts, and even the occasional animal act. In recent memory, the entertainment closest to mainstream vaudeville-esque harkens back to The Ed Sullivan Show, which ran on CBS television from 1948 through 1971, presenting a similar diverse mix of variety acts.
For the second generation of Jewish immigrants, vaudeville offered an opportunity to assimilate into the mainstream. The potential payoff was greater than Yiddish theater as vaudeville had a wider presence with many more venues all throughout the country. Vaudeville theater had opened in cities such as Boston, Chicago and even out west in San Francisco. It was the ideal place in which to sing and/or perform comedy, and both music and humor were (and remain) staples of Jewish life and Jewish culture.
Music and Laughter Lead to Vaudeville
The study of music was part of the Jewish upbringing in Europe and was emphasized from an early age in America as well. Song was part of Jewish festivals, religious gatherings and of Yiddish theater. Even a young Oscar Hammerstein, who had left Germany, running away from his family in 1863 at the age of 16, was already versed in piano, flute and violin when he landed on American shores.
By the age of nine or ten, most of the Jewish soon-to-be vaudevillians were fluent on a musical instrument, and many sang as well. Jewish humor, meanwhile, was unique unto itself, exploring life as it unfolded, while often helping to ease the brunt of persecution and in America, ghetto living conditions. Jewish humor often asks the question “Why?,”
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Jews on Broadway
as in, “Why do we act in a particular manner or behave in such a way?”
or “Why must we suffer?” Self-reflective and even self-deprecating, such humor would translate well into mainstream vaudeville. However, unlike the Jewish monologists of years to come, with their exploration of family, of life, love, relationships and of simply “being Jewish,” vaudeville humor was largely based on stereotypes, most of which would be considered anything but politically correct today.
In vaudeville, each ethnic group had their own stereotypical characters, or caricatures, and they were not always portrayed by performers of that ethnicity. The Jewish characters in vaudeville were taken in part from characters in other literature, such as Shakespeare’s Shylock, and in part from the ghetto, with an exaggerated Yiddish accent. Being dis-honest and frugal when it came to dealings with money, for example, would manifest itself onstage in a humorous routine or a comedy skit, as they were called. While the depictions of Jews in this manner perpetuated the stereotypes, the Jewish entertainers were welcomed into prominence as part of American culture. Jews, as well as other minorities, were accepted, largely through their own derogatory caricatures, as part of what was widely received as the comedy of the era. Although the patriarchs of Yiddish theater snubbed their noses at such humor, the younger generation of Jewish performers saw it as “good clean fun.” The young up-and-coming vaudevillians argued that the best performer to play a Jew was a Jew, and self-mocking was part of their assimilation process.
In some ways it was not unlike hazing at a fraternity. This was a right of passage, a way of “Americanizing.”
Of course the question has often been asked regarding whether the effects of such depictions encouraged anti–Semitism or not. While religion was not a factor on stage, some will argue that such depictions rein-forced the negative image of the Jewish people. Of course
, the contrary argument is that the familiarity with actual Jewish people through their presence in vaudeville, albeit using stereotypical characters, actually less-ened the fear that spurred such hatred by showing that the Jewish people were able to fit in, laugh at themselves and entertain, like everyone else.
While this is not a focal point in this book, it is worth mentioning that there is little, if any, evidence that anti–Semitism increased because of vaudeville. It is also worth noting that several Jewish performers, including Eddie Cantor, Al Jolson and Fanny Brice, emerged as some of the 32
2. Part of the Melting Pot
most renowned, best loved stars of their time, admired by non–Jews as well as Jews.
It should also be mentioned that many Jewish vaudevillians, as well as other performers of the era, donned blackface. While far from politically correct today, this was customary at the time. The most notable blackfaced performer was Al Jolson, who rose to enormous stage and film notoriety while behind the dark makeup.
Jewish Vaudevillians
The routines of the Jewish performers left an indelible mark on vaude ville, and later on many of these performers would go on to great success on the Broadway stage.
For Fania Borach, better known as Fanny Brice, vaudeville was one of several stops on the way to a successful career that would include radio, film and Broadway. Like most of the Jewish entertainers of that time, she was born on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, the daughter of Euro pean immigrants. Although her family moved to Newark, New Jersey, when she was young, she grew up determined to return to New York City, on stage. With that as her goal, she entered talent contests, winning some while also impressing one of Broadway’s most distinguished gen-tlemen, Irish-born composer, lyricist, director and performer, George M. Cohan, for whom she auditioned at the age of 16. Cohan put her in the chorus of the show Talk of New York. Inexperienced, however, she was fired before the show opened.
Jews on Broadway: An Historical Survey of Performers, Playwrights, Composers, Lyricists and Producers Page 4
