Yiddish Empire: The Vilna Troupe, Jewish Theater, and the Art of Itinerancy

by Debra Caplan

Yiddish Empire tells the story of how a group of itinerant Jewish performers became the interwar equivalent of a viral sensation, providing a missing chapter in the history of the modern stage. During World War I, a motley group of teenaged amateurs, impoverished war refugees, and out- of- work Russian actors banded together to revolutionize the Yiddish stage. Achieving a most unlikely success through their productions, the Vilna Troupe (1915– 36) would eventually go on to earn the attention of theatergoers around the world. Advancements in modern transportation allowed Yiddish theater artists to reach global audiences, traversing not only cities and districts but also countries and continents. The Vilna Troupe routinely performed in major venues that had never before allowed Jews, let alone Yiddish, upon their stages, and operated across a vast territory, a strategy that enabled them to attract unusually diverse audiences to the Yiddish stage and a precursor to the organizational structures and travel patterns that we see now in contemporary theater. Debra Caplan’s history of the Troupe is rigorously researched, employing primary and secondary sources in multiple languages, and is engagingly written.

Genres: Jewish

342 pages, Hardcover

First published April 30, 2018

Reviews

[Shauna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: the author is a good friend of mine. That said, I would genuinely recommend this book to Jewish history, theater history, and Jewish theater history enthusiasts, as well as to anyone who, like me, enjoys learning about any subject if it's described expertly and passionately.

The topic is less niche than it sounds. The author does a good job of situating the Vilna Troupe within contemporary popular culture, as well as within time and space - no mean feat, given how much they moved around! I loved the stories about how different towns reacted to performances and to the Troupe's growing fame, as well as the endless debates that prominent intellectuals had about the quality, meaning, and impact of their shows. (Never change, intellectuals!) Plus, you know, backstage theater drama. Any theater history has to have at least a few love triangles and affairs and elopements!

There's something bittersweet about following the rise of Yiddish theater as an art form and the growing acceptance and mainstreaming of Jewish culture, knowing what is to come. The author deals briefly with the Holocaust, at the very end of the book, and even that short chapter is a punch to the stomach. The book is clearly meant to be a celebration of a vibrant community with a big impact on the world, and it is, but one can't help mourning all the people and organizations that might have helped keep those memories and traditions alive.

[Jay Resnick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Debra Caplan has done amazing research, and written a wonderful book that tells the history of “The Vilna Troupe.”