New York's Yiddish Theater: From the Bowery to Broadway

Slideshow curated by Fruma Mohrer.

Co-presentation of the Museum of the City of New York, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, the National Yiddish Book Center, and the National Yiddish Theater-Folksbiene. Located at the Museum of the City of New York.

From the late 19th to the mid- 20th century, a thriving Yiddish theater culture blossomed on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, entertaining over 1.5 million first and second generation Eastern-European Jewish immigrants. Second Avenue became the “Yiddish Broadway,” where audiences of new New Yorkers celebrated their culture and learned about urban life in the city via cutting-edge dramas, musical comedies, and avant-garde political theater. As stars of the Yiddish stage gained mainstream popularity, New York’s Yiddish theater became an American phenomenon. This legacy resonates today through enduring dramatic themes, classic New York humor, and a large crop of crossover actors, directors, and designers who found work on the mainstream New York stage and in Hollywood. Curated by Edna Nahshon and accompanied by a book of the same name.

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The exhibition is made possible by:

The Puffin Foundation
The David Berg Foundation
Righteous Persons Foundation
YIVO Institute for Jewish Research
National Yiddish Book Center
National Yiddish Theater-Folksbiene

Additional support is provided by:

Midler Family Foundation
Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust
Lucius N. Littauer Foundation
Atran Foundation
Broad Art Foundation
Virginia Brody
Charles and Mildred Schnurmacher Foundation
Suzanne Davis and Rolf Ohlhausen
Mr. and Mrs. David Levine
Michael and Tatiana Reiff
Mr. and Mrs. Lief D. Rosenblatt
Larry and Sandy Simon
Sy Syms Foundation
Mark and Anla Cheng Kingdon Foundation
Lee Gelber
Bernard W. Nussbaum Family Foundation
Deborah and Peter Wexler