"The Dybbuk (original version), a dramatic legend in three acts, by S. Ansky, with music by I. Engel; staged by E. Vachtangiv; presented in Hebrew by the Habima Players at the Mansfield Theatre."


From the NY Times review,
by J. Brooks Atkinson
"The Dybbuk" in Hebrew
December 14, 1926


"...In order to describe it one must report some of the details. First of all, the make-up is extraordinary. Faces are painted with curious designs, in high colors, not unlike grotesque masks; mouths are pulled out of  shape by daubs of grease-paint; eyes are rendered almost uncanny by circles and arches; noses are pulled to a sharp point. The black gowns of the Chassidim are crudely smeared with white at the edges. All the benches and chairs used in the synagogue and at the wedding breakfast are off centre; the angular treatment of the property extends even to the unpretentious scenery.

The actors move about the stage with grotesque motions, with absurd attitudes; the lines of the human figure are broken up by stooping or leaning heavily to one side. And the voices of the beggars, the professional prayer men and the choruses n general are individually unnatural, stressed and strained. Divided into its various parts, like the individual scores for a symphony, the production would be thoroughly unintelligible.

When all these separate parts are pulled together in a symmetrical performance the effect is astonishing--as unreal as the mystical legend of the play, as profound in its searching of the emotions, supple, resilient and varied...

...With the Habima we see a fresher method of  group-acting, suited to dramas of a freer technique. Our stage may learn a good deal from it in the orchestration of producing."