YIVO Presents: Breach of Promise

A 1912 Yiddish Play in Translation

(New York, NY) – On Wednesday, July 31, 2019, YIVO presents a rehearsed reading of Leon Kobrin’s 1912 play Breach of Promise—a tragicomic slice of tenement life in New York City. 

The reading will be in English, in a newly commissioned translation by director and translator Allen Lewis Rickman, and will feature a cast of professional actors.  

Kobrin's play follows protagonist Katie Tsimbel—an unmarried twenty-eight-year-old—who has gotten herself “in trouble.” At her mother’s urging, she tries to force their recent-immigrant boarder—a Jewish ex-soldier in the Tsar’s army, whose fiancé is expected to arrive in America soon—to marry her by framing him with a Breach of Promise charge.

“It’s about time Kobrin was rediscovered — he was one of the most interesting Yiddish playwrights of his time,” said Rickman. “And BREACH OF PROMISE was a play he was very proud of. It’s a story of simple immigrants trying to adjust to the realities of an alien civilization; the characters are multi-sided, the humor in the play comes out of naturalistic situations, and the whole thing feels like a snapshot of the old Lower East Side.”

Program: Breach of Promise
When: Wednesday, July 31, 2019 | 7:00pm
Where: YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in the Center for Jewish History Building (15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011)
Tickets: $15 for General Admission, $10 for YIVO Members and Students
Reservations: https://www.yivo.org/Breach-of-Promise

For any media inquiries please contact:

Alex Weiser
Director of Public Programs
(212) 294-6152

YIVO

The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research is dedicated to the preservation and study of the history and culture of East European Jewry worldwide. For nearly a century, YIVO has pioneered new forms of Jewish scholarship, research, education, and cultural expression. Our public programs and exhibitions, as well as online and on-site courses, extend our outreach to a global community. The YIVO Archives contains 24 million unique items and YIVO’s Library has over 400,000 volumes—the single largest resource for the study of East European Jewish life in the world. yivo.org / yivo.org/the-whole-story