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In the Warsaw theatre, "Eldorado," on
Smocza [Smotsha], there is now appearing an operetta called "Leybke mazik."
I was intrigued by this
taki theatre
because it is located in the center of Jewish poverty, in
the heart of the vast, obscure Jewish masses. I have visited this theatre
several times, and I maintain that one should
not ignore the public who come there, and not the Yiddish
actors, who try to indulge in a little bit of fun in order to arouse
a little of the ferocious ... of the defeated, darkened
"Moses." I believe that when the actors of this kind of
theatre "do" their work perfectly, when they conscientiously
fulfill the task assigned to them, when they strike at the
primitive, sentimental struggle of the specific "Eldorado"
audience and awaken in them, to a certain extent, feelings
of primitive goodness and human honesty -- when they do
this, they are doing good and should not be dismissed.
Everybody needs to be in a position to do their best. And
when Weintraub's "Eldorado" Theatre has, instead of the
"sensational" beats of a certain type and of a specific
smell, again taken to behaving in pure, innocent operettas
of the ancient fashion, without pretensions of art but just
so as to dispel the bitterness a little in order to
entertain the world, one may say a few words about it even
in public.
The operetta that is now appearing in
the theatre on Smocza belongs to that type, which it
is not filled with old Yiddish theatre. Once again this is a
"horrible" story about a mother, who in a moment marries her
own son, but a miracle happens, and in the last minute she
finds out that she wanted to go under the canopy with her
lost son again.
But what does this mean, the "content"
of the operetta? In general, it seems, all Yiddish operettas
have one and the same "content." They
are all made on the same shoemaker's cloth ...
What we want to emphasize, however, is
not the "content" of the "play" itself, but the
conscientious work of the actors who in general fulfill appropriately their task of entertaining the "Eldorado"
audience, not with any filth and mere nonsense, but with
some good stage tricks, some warm songs and a few
embarrassing jokes ...
In the first place, one must remember
the artist Ben-Zion Witler, who plays the main role. I've
had another opportunity to mention that this actor has been
done a
disservice. I really did not understand. Why he is avoided,
he is starved in this way, more than any other Yiddish
operetta actor. According to my opinion, Mr. Witler can do a
very good job in a Yiddish operetta. He only needs to beware
of the danger of being manipulated by the recent turmoil,
but in general nevertheless Witler as an operetta actor, he
deserves attention. He understands how to sing a sentimental
song with taste , especially a ta ...a. He possesses a fine
diction, a good language, and his lovely appearance gives him
a fair share on stage. These are all virtues for an operetta
actor, and these virtues are shown by Witler in "Leybke mazik,"
especially when he sings the primitive but very heartfelt
and sentimental song, "A Song of Love" (music adapted by Sh.
Prizament).
Of the rest of the actors there stands
out Mr. Liatovitsh, who gives a very good mask and plays the
role of Taybe with a lot of liveliness and humor. Also,
successfully participating are the artists: Nadia Kareni
(sings with Witler in a duet, "A Song of Love," very
warmly); Lola Yakubovitsh, Rubina Keyzerovitsh, Maniela, as
well as the men: Sh. Rozen (quite fine as a hotel owner),
Grinshpan et al.
The operetta is equipped modestly by
Mr. B. Epstein's project of the hotel decorations from the
first to the third act -- very respectable. |
