Appendix B: Glossary of plays
This appendix contains a table of Yiddish Theater plays that Sam mentions, either as a play he performed in, attended, or refers to someone else performing in. Plays are listed in order of first appearance.
In the Playwright/composer(s)
column, I provide names of those who were documented to have been involved writing the play and/or music. An absence of a composer or lyricist does not imply that the main playwright necessary also wrote the songs; in many cases, this information is just not definitively known (or I haven’t found it yet!). It was also common for songs to be added to plays by additional songwriters who were not officially credited.
Play name | English translation | Playwright/composer(s) | Chapter(s) | Synopses, scripts, or selected sheet music1, where available |
---|---|---|---|---|
Shulamith |
Shulamith | Abraham Goldfaden |
6, 7, 8, 20, 24 | Digital Yiddish Theater Project |
Bar Kokhba |
Bar Kokhba | Abraham Goldfaden |
6, 20, 34 | Digital Yiddish Theater Project |
Di Kokete Damen |
The Coquettish/Flirtatious Women | Shomer |
7, 11 | |
Di Kishefmacherin, oder Bobe Yakhne | The Sorceress | Abraham Goldfaden |
8, 11 | Wikipedia Digital Yiddish Theater Project |
Saylor in Gefar |
Sailor in Peril | Unknown English playwright; adapted to Yiddish by Rudolph Marks | 9 | |
Kibed Ov |
Honor thy Father | Joseph Lateiner |
9 | |
Di tsvey Kuni-Leml |
The Two Kuni Lemels | Abraham Goldfaden |
10, 27 | Digital Yiddish Theater Project |
Dos Poylishe Yingl |
The Polish Boy | Moishe Ish Horowitz Halevy, based on the eponymous book by Yitzhak Yoel Linetzky | 11, 32 | |
Aliles Dam, oder Menachem Ben-Yisroel |
Blood Libel, or Menachem Ben-Israel | Boris Thomashefsky |
11 | |
Di Khalitse, oder Velvele Est Kompot |
The Female Pioneer, or Velvele Eats Compote2 | Adapted by Boris Thomashefsky from the eponymous play by Shimon Bekerman | 11 | |
Ester fun Eyn-Gedi |
Esther of Ein-Gedi | Joseph Lateiner |
12 | |
Khayim in Amerike |
Chaim in America | Rudolph Marks |
12 | |
Di Farblondzhete Neshome |
The Lost/Wandering Soul | Joseph Lateiner |
13 | |
Meilitz Yosher, oder Rabbi Yoselman |
Advocate, or Rabbi Yosselman | Abraham Goldfaden |
14, 15 | |
Der Boyeri Tremp |
The Bowery Tramp | Rudolph Marks |
15 | |
Rukhl un Leah |
Rachel and Leah | Unknown | 15 | |
Der Yidisher Kenig Lir |
The Yiddish King Lear | Jacob Gordin |
15, 19 | Wikipedia Digital Yiddish Theater Project |
Aleksander, oder der Kroynprints fun Yerusholayim |
Alexander, or the Crown Prince of Jerusalem | Joseph Lateiner |
15 | |
Der Yidishe Galekh |
The Jewish Priest | Jacob Gordin |
19 | Handwritten script |
Blimele, di Perle fun Varshe, oder Graff un Yude |
Blimele, the Pearl of Warsaw, or The Count and the Jew | Joseph Lateiner, music and lyrics by Sigmond Mogulesko and arrangement by Louis Friedsell | 20 | |
Mirele Efros |
Mirele Efros |
Jacob Gordin |
21 | Wikipedia |
Kiddush Hashem, oder Der Yidisher Minister3 | Kiddush Hashem, or The Jewish Minister | Joseph Lateiner |
21 | |
Medea |
Medea | Originally written in German by the playwright Franz Grillparzer, adapted to Yiddish by Jacob Gordin | 21 | Wikipedia article about a German opera adaptation (2010) of the same play |
Kol Nidre, oder Di Geheyme Yuden in Madrid |
Kol Nidre, or the Crypto-Jews of Madrid | Abraham Michael Sharkansky, music by Louis Friedsell | 24 | |
Gott, Mentsh, un Tayvl |
God, Man, and Devil | Jacob Gordin |
24 | The English translation |
Nomer 587, or Di Mame Sure |
Number 587, or Mother Sarah | Sigmond Feinman |
25 | |
Di Imigranten4 | The Immigrants | Shomer |
27 | |
Tisa Esler |
Tiszaeszlár | Moishe Ish Horowitz Halevy |
30 | |
Yesties Mitsraïm |
Exodus from Egypt | Moishe Ish Horowitz Halevy, music by Perlmutter and Wohl | 30, 31 | Sheet music |
Di Bnei Yisroel, oder Di Vayse un di Schwartse Yuden |
The Children of Israel, or The White and The Black Jews | Moishe Ish Horowitz Halevy, music by Perlmutter and Wohl | 31 | |
East Side Ghetto |
East Side Ghetto | Leon Kobrin |
31 | |
Helene, oder Di Yidishe Medea |
Helena, or the Jewish Medea | Zalmon Libin |
31 | |
Reb Leyb Sephardi, oder Der Yud in Sobietski’s Zayten |
Reb Leyb Sephardi, or The Jew in the Age of Sobietsky | Moishe Ish Horowitz Halevy, music by Perlmutter and Wohl and lyrics by Schorr | 32 | |
Di Yerushe |
The Inheritance | George (Gershon) Zeikin | 32 | Sheet music |
A Mensch Zol Men Zeyn |
A Person Should Be a Mensch | Anshel Schorr and Moishe Schorr | 33 | |
Yom Hakhupe |
The Wedding Day | Joseph Lateiner, music by Joseph Brody and Louis Friedsell and lyrics by Smulewitz, but at least one song had music by Otto Motzan and lyrics by Louis Gilrod | 33 | Sheet music |
Mayn Vayb’s Man, oder Di Bigamistn |
My Wife’s Man, or The Bigamist | Hyman Meisel, music by Joseph Brody and Louis Friedsell | 34 | |
Tsvey Khazonim |
Two Cantors | Harry Kalmanowitz, adapted by Boris Thomashefsky with music by Herman Wohl and Louis Gilrod | 35 | Sheet music |
Got fun Nekome |
God of Vengeance | Sholem Asch |
36 | Digital Yiddish Theater Project |
Eykele Mazik |
The Reformed Convict | Abraham Shomer |
36 | |
Kroitzer Sonata |
The Kreutzer Sonata | Adapted by Jacob Gordin for the Yiddish theater, based on the novella by Leo Tolstoy | 36 | Wikipedia |
Zalmon Troubadour |
Zalmen Troubadour | Leon Zolotkoff |
38 | |
Khantshe in Amerike |
Khantshe in America | Nakhum Rakov, music by Joseph Rumshinsky and lyrics by Isidore Lillian | 38 | Sheet music |
Di Greenhorns, oder Mishke un Moshke5 | The Greenhorns, or Mishke and Moshke | Joseph Lateiner |
39 | Partial script, in Yiddish6 |
Dos Farblondzete Shefele |
The Lost Little Sheep | Thomashefsky, music by Perlmutter and Wohl | 41 | Sheet music |
Undzer Gloybn |
Our Beliefs | Sholem Asch |
41 | |
Der Griner Milyoner |
The Greenhorn Millionaire | Abraham Shomer |
42 | Script, in Yiddish |
Dos Tsubrokhene Fidele |
The Broken Violin | Thomashefsky, music by Rumshinsky (with input from George Gershwin) and lyrics by Thomashefsky and Isidore Lillian | 43 | Sheet music |
Der Griner Bokher |
The Greenhorn Boy | Thomashefsky, music by Louis Friedsell | 43 | |
Liovke Molodietz |
Liovke Molodietz |
Words and music by Wolf Shumsky and Aaron Lebedeff | 44 | Sheet music |
Dem Zeyden’s Gelibte |
The Grandfather’s Sweetheart | Libretto by Louis Freiman and music by Herman Wohl | 45 | |
Kinder Fargesn Nit |
Children Don’t Forget | Zalmon Libin, music by Joseph Brody | 45 | |
Dem Rabin’s Zondele |
The Rabbi’s Little Son | William Segal, lyrics by Nakhum Stutchkoff and music by Herman Wohl | 45 |
Generally for songs sung by Sam↩︎
Noting I have also seen this referred to as Dovid Velvele eats tsimmes (Source)↩︎
Not to be confused with the book of the same name by Sholem Asch, which was later adapted into a play↩︎
Not to be confused with the book of the same name by Leon Kobrin↩︎
Also known as Mishke un Moshke, oder Eyropeyer in Amerike (Mishke and Moshke, Europeans in America)↩︎
This might not actually be a partial script of this play. If it isn’t, it’s certainly a piece of related content.↩︎