The Yiddish Theater in America and Poland Between the Two World Wars

Ruth Gay Seminar in Jewish Studies Inaugurated in 2008 thanks to a major gift from the family of Ruth Gay, the Ruth Gay Seminar in Jewish Studies was established in honor of Ruth Gay (1922-2006), the noted American Jewish historian and writer. This series is given by scholars who use the YIVO Archives and wish to share their research with the public. Admission: Free

Two museums, both devoted to the modern Yiddish theater, opened their doors to the public independently in 1926: the Yiddish Theater Museum in New York City, and the other, the Esther Rokhl Kaminska Theater Museum, in Warsaw. How do we explain this coincidence? And why did the first close its doors after a short time while the other grew and thrived, eventually under the stewardship of the YIVO Institute? In this lecture, Yiddish theater scholar Alyssa Quint will introduce her listeners to the riches of one of YIVO's founding collections, which, in conjunction with a museum, was created in the name of the great Yiddish actress Esther Rokhl Kaminska. She will also discuss the evolution of this collection from 1926 to 1939, and the symbiotic relationship it forged between YIVO and the Yiddish theater world of interwar Poland.

About the Speaker

Alyssa Quint is the Vilna Collections Scholar-in-Residence at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. She received her Ph.D. from Harvard University. Quint has taught Yiddish literature at a number of universities, most recently at Columbia University, and has lectured and published extensively on Yiddish culture. Her book on the rise of the modern Yiddish theater, The Social Life of Yiddish Theater, is forthcoming from Indiana University Press.