The extraoridnary talent, Alter-Sholem Kacyzne (Yiddish, Katsizne, 1885-1941) is best known for his photographs. As a photographer working in Poland for the New York-based Forward newspaper, he became one of the most important documentarians of…

The Vilna Troupe was a network of theater troupes (of 250 actors) that grew from a single troupe (of 15 actors) that formed in German-occupied Vilna during World War One. It was one of a number of troupes during this period that sought to produce…

The Museum Collection is distinctive for its vast quantity of newspaper clippings of reviews and interviews, and programs and playbills that provide detailed information about the social and cultural life of Polish Jewry from the late 19th century to…

In My Life, My Theater,Ida Kaminska writes movingly about her mother's failing health and their final performance together shortly before Esther-Rachel died. In the play, Jacob Gordin'sMirele Efros, Esther-Rachel played Mirele and Ida, her…

Moshe Broderzon was born in Moscow the grandson of the Hasidic master, Rebbe Itsikl Raskin. When his family was exiled from Moscow, Broderzon settled with his grandfather in Łódź and was brought up going to kheyder and became a bookkeeper. He spent…

While An-ski had every intention of seeingThe Dybbuk on the boards during his lifetime, history and politics interrupted. During World War I (1914-1919), An-ski spent a significant amount of time collecting funds for the relief effort and…

This theater museum collection’s namesake is Esther-Rachel (Ester-Rokhl) Kaminska. Esther-Rachel’s reputation was marked by her far-reaching talent as a preeminent Yiddish actor, the maternal presence she projected to her fellow actors and admirers,…

A playbill of a Yiddish theater production atthe Liga Cultural Israelita, Porto Alegre