|
A
Note of Welcome
The first appearance
in the United States of The Jewish State Theatre of
Poland headed by its distinguished leading lady and
director, Ida Kaminska, is indeed an event of great
significance for the American theatre. This is the
only Yiddish language permanent repertory theatre in
the world. It carries on the great tradition and
history of the Yiddish Theatre of Eastern Europe.
The Holocaust of World War II all but destroyed the
great cultural centers, and it is a tribute to the
members of this troupe that they chose to
reconstruct their theatre and start anew.
It has been some
three-and-a-half years since contacts and efforts
were first made to bring Ida Kaminska and The Jewish
State Theatre to the United States for its first
tour. The late Szymon Zakrzewski, Director of the
Polish Artistic Agency from 1948 to 1966, for years
had urged, pleaded and negotiated for this theatre
and insisted that this great actress should be seen
in New York. Finally when Ida Kaminska appeared in
the Academy Award film, "The Shop on Main Street,"
she won the hearts of millions who saw the movie,
and when nominated for an Academy Award herself in
1966, she became known to a vast audience.
This made the tour
possible. In August 1966, Mr. Zakrzewski, himself a
Yiddish actor in Lviv before the War, prepared the
original contracts for the tour. Unfortunately he
died shortly after. Several trips were made to
Warsaw in the next year to finalize the contract, to
select the plays and determine the logistics of
bringing this large troupe to the United States. The
Polish Artistic Agency agreed to finance the travel
expenses of the theatre, its actors, stagehands, and
the entire wardrobe and sets. The workshops of The
Jewish State Theatre in Warsaw were busy for months
constructing new sets according to the
specifications of the Billy Rose Theatre. A full
crew of seamstresses and tailors worked overtime to
make new costumes for each play. Madame Kaminska ran
special performances of both plays at their theatre
in Warsaw to prepare the company for New York. In
effect the out-of-town tryouts were in Warsaw.
We now welcome Ida
Kaminska and The Jewish State Theatre of Poland to
Broadway. |
