The Mother of Yiddish Theatre

This important memoir by the “mother of the Yiddish theatre” recounts her path from a sheltered shtetl upbringing to a life of high adventure in a touring Yiddish theatre troupe. Along the way, readers encounter fascinating details about Jewish life in Tsarist Russia and a compelling cast of characters. * Sonia Gollance, Associate Professor of Yiddish Studies, UCL, UK *
Never did I have to sing with an orchestra consisting of only a woman who played the French horn as she breastfed her baby. Nor did I ever have to wheel out manure from a stable before I invited audiences into it so that it could serve as a theatre. But I can certainly relate to the aspiration to act while coming from a family with another path in mind. She writes, ‘If some mystery man had appeared before me, God knows who, I would have gladly married him, as long as it meant I would be allowed to go off and perform.’ A woman with priorities, I thought, as I read her words in our fellow actor Mikhl Yashinsky’s robust and lively translation. * from the preface by Tovah Feldshuh *