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38-593: The great Yiddish actor, Boris Thomashefsky , came to Baltimore in the mid-1880s and gave what was probably the first performance of Yiddish theater in Baltimore at Concordia Hall. In his autobiography he left a description of the Hall: A fire destroyed the Corcordia in 1891. 39°17′18.5″N 76°37′15.25″W  /  39.288472°N 76.6209028°W  / 39.288472; -76.6209028 This article on

76-764: A nihilist and the young man dies of a broken heart." (They don't say whether this was the production that went head-to-head with the Adler/Kessler Othello .) By 1910, Thomashefsky owned a 12-room home on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn , plus a bungalow by the sea, and 20 acres (81,000 m ) in Hunter, New York , which included an open-air theater, Thomashefsky's Paradise Gardens. Each of his three sons had an Arabian horse . However, in 1915, Thomashefsky filed for bankruptcy, listing assets of $ 21,900 and debts of $ 76,297.65. In 1935, late in his career, Thomashefsky

114-597: A stage manager . One of Ted Thomas's sons is conductor Michael Tilson Thomas . The first son, Harry, went on to direct the film The Yiddish King Lear (1935), under the auspices of the Federal Theatre Project , and later moved with his mother to Los Angeles. The second son, Mickey, had affairs with two women at the same time, which led to a dramatic murder-attempt/suicide in 1931, reminiscent of his aunt Emma Thomashefsky Finkel 's notorious 1904 affair. Both Mickey and his Aunt Emma were left paralyzed by

152-619: A Broadway producer to the tutelage of "the great Boris Thomashefsky" in the song "The King of Broadway". In 2011, Shuler Hensley portrayed Boris Thomashefsky in The Thomashefskys: Music and Memories of a Life in the Yiddish Theater , a concert stage show celebrating the Thomashefskys and the music of American Yiddish theatre hosted by their grandson the conductor Michael Tilson Thomas . The show aired on

190-464: A cigarette maker in a sweatshop , where he first heard songs from the Yiddish theater, sung by some of his fellow workers. Thomashefsky managed to convince a local tavern owner to invest in bringing over some performers. The first performance was Abraham Goldfaden 's Yiddish operetta די מכשפה ( The Witch ). The performance was a mild disaster: pious and prosperous "uptown" German Jews opposed to

228-433: A few more years. He moved to Chişinău , where he sang in the noted choir of cantor Nisn Belzer . As a pre-adolescent singer, he was paid 60 rubles per year, a high sum at a time when the typical salary of a schoolteacher would have been about 18 rubles per year. He was soon hired away by cantor Cuper (a.k.a. Kupfer) of Bucharest's Great Synagogue , where he was engaged as a soloist. At 14 he began conservatory studies and

266-406: A music performance venue is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Boris Thomashefsky Boris Thomashefsky ( Russian : Борис Пинхасович Томашевский , sometimes written Thomashevsky , Thomaschevsky , etc.; Yiddish : באָריס טאָמאשעבסקי ) (1868 –July 9, 1939), born Boruch-Aharon Thomashefsky , was a Ukrainian -born (later American) Jewish singer and actor who became one of

304-503: A pauper in the 1930s. Thomashefsky is buried with his wife, who, although separated from him by 1911, never divorced him, in the Yiddish theater section of the Mount Hebron Cemetery, Flushing, Queens, New York . Both Thomashefskys did much to shape the world of modern theatre from the follies to Broadway and gave a start to many actors, composers and producers who went on to start and own theaters and movie studios. Even

342-490: A play by August von Kotzebue , he so upstaged the star, Israel Grodner , that Grodner quit to start his own company. Grodner soon hired Mogulesko away from Goldfaden; and eventually Mogulesko would inherit Grodner's troupe. Grodner started another. With his partner Moishe Finkel , over the next decade Mogulesko dominated Yiddish theater in Romania. The Jigniţa Theatre, its orchestra, and Mogulesko were lauded as comparable to

380-547: A role in the theatre. They had three children: Bessie, Julius and Leeza. Mogulesko died in New York in 1914. He was survived by his wife Amalie, two daughters, Bessie and Leeza, and son Dr. Julius Mogulesko. He is buried in Washington Cemetery in Brooklyn . The New York Times remarked at the time of his funeral that: "There has never been among English-speaking peoples ... such an outpouring of sympathy over

418-592: A success in Moses Halevy Horowitz 's operetta David ben Jesse as to force the Union Theater temporarily to abandon its highbrow programming and compete head on. After Adler recruited Jacob Gordin as a playwright and found a way to draw the masses to serious theater with Gordin's The Yiddish King Lear , and then turned to Shakespeare 's Othello , Thomashefsky decided to show that he could compete on that ground as well, and responded with

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456-461: A thriving theater scene), and England . In June 1906, Mogulesko made a successful return tour to Romania, reviving Yiddish theater there after a decade of doldrums. He brought to Romania some of the hits of New York Yiddish theater, most of which were new in that venue: Shaykevich-Shomer 's Di Emigrantn ("The Emigrants"), and Yekl Baltakse , Dos Groyse Glik ("Big Luck") by Kornblatt , and Der Umbakanter ("The Unknown") by Jacob Gordin . He

494-623: A vogue for broad comedy, vaudeville and light operettas, which the Thomashefskys embraced wholeheartedly, especially in performing Leon Kobrin 's plays about immigrant life. Other notable Thomashefsky productions included Yiddish versions of Uncle Tom's Cabin , Goethe 's Faust and, unlikely as it may seem, Wagner 's Parsifal . According to the Jewish Virtual Library, in an adaptation of Hamlet called Der Yeshiva Bokher ( The Yeshiva Student ), "a wicked uncle smears [a] rabbinic candidate’s reputation by calling him

532-571: A young cutup who was the life of local parties, imitating scenes from Rumanian comedies and mimicking the dignified cantor he sang for. Within a year Mogulesko had become the comic genius of his generation." Mogulesko also played various other comic, musical roles for Goldfaden, including the granddaughter in Die Bubbe mitn Einikl ( Grandmother and Granddaughter ), and the lead in The Intrigue, or Dvoise Intrigued . In his first non-comic role,

570-518: The 1880s; for much of the 1880s, Chicago was his base. After Yiddish theater was banned in Russia, his tours came to include such prominent actors as Siegmund Mogulesko , David Kessler , and Jacob Adler , with new plays by playwrights such as Moses Ha-Levi Horowitz . In 1887, playing in Baltimore, he met 14-year-old Bessie Baumfeld-Kaufman , when she came backstage to meet the beautiful young "actress" she had seen on stage, only to discover that "she"

608-566: The Comical Wedding . The title role, written for Mogulesko, is a clueless mama's boy; it is often considered the first great role in Yiddish theater. Mogulesko is believed to have written or arranged some of the music for that play. Describing how Goldfaden came to engage Mogulesko as an actor, Nahma Sandrow remarks: " Meshoyrerim were sophisticated musically, and were notorious for being freethinking and irreverent. As soon as Goldfadn [ sic ] arrived in town he heard about

646-581: The Gershwin brothers had their start with the Thomashefkys. They were also prominent in addressing controversial social issues of the day and in teaching the Greenhorns how to be Americans. They not only founded theaters and production companies, but had publishing houses and many other successful business adventures. Boris Thomashefsky even founded and funded a Jewish Army which he sent to Israel and

684-574: The PBS series Great Performances in 2012. Siegmund Mogulesko Sigmund Mogulesko (16 December 1858 – 4 February 1914) — Yiddish : זעליק מאָגולעסקאָ Zelik Mogulesko , first name also sometimes spelled as Zigmund , Siegmund , Zelig , or Selig , last name sometimes spelled Mogulescu — was a singer, actor, and composer in the Yiddish theater in New York City. He

722-559: The Yiddish stage… He is known also as a leading composer of music for the Yiddish stage." Sigmund Mogulesko was born in Kalarash, Bessarabia (now Călăraşi in Moldova ). His father died when he was nine years old, and his mother received assistance for the family from the local Jewish community. He first became a meshoyrer (choir singer) in the choir of cantor Iosif Heller , and learned to sight-read music. His mother died within

760-542: The Yiddish theater did a great deal to sabotage it. His performing career was launched in part due to an instance of this sabotage—bribing the soubrette to fake a sore throat: Thomashefsky went on in her place. Shortly afterward, the teenage Thomashefsky was the pioneer of taking Yiddish theater "on the road" in the United States, performing Goldfaden's plays in cities such as Philadelphia , Washington, D.C. , Baltimore , Pittsburgh , Boston and Chicago, all in

798-487: The Yiddish-language theatre scene. Some critics view it as a step away from immigrant assimilation, others as one step further towards common ground between the new residents and their American neighbors. These productions ushered in what is generally seen as the first great age of Yiddish theater, centered in New York and lasting approximately until a new wave of Jewish immigration in 1905—08 once again resulted in

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836-503: The age of 11, he left for Berdychiv where he trained as a meshoyrer (choir singer) in the renowned synagogue choir of cantor Nisan Belzer . In 1881, he emigrated with his family to the United States, and just a year later, while still a teenager, he was largely responsible for the first performance of Yiddish theater in New York City, in what was to become the Yiddish Theater District . He has been credited as

874-440: The attempted murders by jealous mates and both later died of complications related to their wounds; Emma, many years later, in 1929, and Mickey, five years after in 1936. Boris Thomashefsky carried on a long-term affair with Yiddish actress Regina Zuckerberg , an Austrian-born actress twenty years younger than Bessie. This caused Boris and Bessie to separate. Both went on to have successful but separate careers. However, Boris became

912-778: The biggest stars in Yiddish theater . He was born Boruch-Aharon Thomashefsky in Osytnyazhka  [ uk ] ( Ukrainian : Оситняжка ; Yiddish : אָסיטניאַשקע ), a village in the Chyhyryn county of the Kiev Governorate of the Russian Empire (today in the Kirovohrad Oblast , Ukraine). He grew up in the nearby town of Kamyanka (today in the Cherkasy Oblast , Ukraine), until, at

950-440: The death of an actor unknown outside of his profession". Writing of Mogulesko's troupe in Romania in 1884, and probably referring to the plays of Moses Horowitz and Joseph Lateiner , Dr. Moses Gaster was generally impressed: Above all, we must assert that Jewish theater, through the pieces played on its stage, has indeed an educative and moral scope, because on the one hand it represents scenes from our history known by only

988-490: The first Yiddish production of Shakespeare's Hamlet , in which, by all reports, he acquitted himself excellently. His production of Hamlet was more than just a direct translation; the story was also adapted to make it more accessible to a devout European Jewish audience. At the start of the play, young Hamlet has been away at Rabbinical college, and his uncle has seduced the Queen Mother away from King Hamlet, breaking

1026-918: The first Yiddish theater stars in the New World . He later founded the Rumanian Opera House on Manhattan's Lower East Side . The first performance was Goldfaden's unsuccessful January 1888 New York debut. In New York, he introduced Jacob Adler and Keni Lipzin to the American stage, who both became highly influential. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia , Mogulesko also performed in Russia , "Austria" (which at that time could mean anywhere in Cisleithania , and most likely means Galicia (Central Europe) , probably Lvov , which had

1064-688: The level of the National Theater. Performing in Romanian as well as Yiddish, Mogulesko drew an audience that went beyond the Jewish community. During this period, he gave David Kessler his start in theater. At one point during this period, he and Finkel had a falling out, and he spent a summer doing garden cabaret with a quartet he formed; Finkel's troupe was unsuccessful without him, and they soon reached an understanding. In 1886 or 1887, Mogulesko moved to New York, where he promptly became one of

1102-402: The old man's heart. There are sectarian jokes regarding communication with angels. Claudius spreads a rumor that Prince Hamlet has succumbed to nihilism while away, but his scheme is discovered and the traitor is sent to Siberia in his nephew's stead. The play ends early, with Hamlet ceremonially marrying Ophelia at her funeral then dying of a broken heart. These types of edits were not uncommon in

1140-613: The pioneer of Borscht Belt entertainment. Although Thomashefsky left Imperial Russia at a time when Yiddish theater was still thriving there (it was banned in September 1883), he had never seen it performed prior to the 1882 performance he brought together in New York. Thomashefsky, who was earning some money by singing on Saturdays at the Henry Street Synagogue on the Lower East Side , was also working as

1178-475: The playwright wrote the title role of Shmendrik for him. Mogulesko soon founded his own troupe and dominated Yiddish theatre in Romania for a decade. After immigrating to the United States, he eventually founded the Rumanian Opera House on New York City 's Lower East Side , one of the great venues of Yiddish theater . The Jewish Encyclopedia described him in 1904 as "the best comedian on

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1216-518: The synagogue, serving as an 18-year-old choral director. He also sang at weddings and other parties in the style of the Broder singers , and imitated well-known Bucharest actors. In 1877 Abraham Goldfaden arrived in Bucharest with his less-than-year-old troupe, the first professional Yiddish theater company. Intrigued, Mogulesko auditioned for him. His scene inspired Goldfaden's play Shmendrik, or

1254-416: Was Boris. Bessie soon ran away from home to join the company, and eventually took over the ingenue roles, as Boris moved on to romantic male leads. They married in 1891. In 1891, with Mogulesko, Kessler, and Adler all engaged in starting the Union Theater, Moishe Finkel brought the still relatively unknown Thomashefsky back to New York to star at his National Theater , where Thomashefsky became enough of

1292-535: Was a prizewinning pupil. In 1874, Mogulesko performed with a visiting French operetta troupe, where he met Lazăr Zuckermann , Simhe Dinman , and Moses Wald . The four performed together for weddings and other ceremonies as Corul Izraelit ("the Israelite Chorus"). He continued singing for the synagogue, and on Sundays was paid to sing in a church choir. As his voice changed, Mogulesko worked for two years knitting , then returned to sing for Cuper at

1330-478: Was an actor/singer in Henry Lynn 's Yiddish film Bar Mitzvah , in which he played a melodramatic role with gusto and co-produced the film. He sang, Erlekh Zayn (Be Virtuous), a song from a 1924 Yiddish play, Bar Mitzvah . With his wife, actress Bessie Thomashefsky , he had three sons, as well a daughter who died when she was six years old. The third son, Theodore, changed his name to Ted Thomas and became

1368-510: Was born in Kalarash, Bessarabia (now Călăraşi in Moldova ) and began singing in the local synagogue choir. Before reaching adolescence, he was paid nearly three times what teachers made, to sing in the synagogue of Chişinău . Soon after moving to Bucharest, Romania , he was paid to sing in churches as well as synagogues, and started acting. He was a star in Abraham Goldfaden 's first Bucharest -based theater troupe — and

1406-565: Was married to Amalia Feinman. She was born about 1860 in Iasi , Romania. Her father was a cutter (of garments). She studied in a primary school and married Mogulesko at an early age. Later she performed in Goldfaden's Grandmother with Grandson ("The Teacher"), and also played in Flaterbursh ("Student"), and Perikola. She immigrated to America with her husband, where she occasionally had

1444-680: Was named after him. The unit later became a unit in the British Army. In the Marx Brothers film , Monkey Business (1931), , Groucho Marx (in defending his right to hide in a gangster's moll's closet) exclaims, "That's what they said to Thomas Edison, mighty inventor, Thomas Lindbergh, mighty flyer, and Thomashefsky, 'mighty lak a rose'!" Tribute was also paid in Mel Brooks' stage and film musicals based on his 1968 film The Producers , when Max Bialystock attributes his acumen as

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