The Influence of Yiddish Theatre and Music on American Culture

Santa Monica Public Library
Martin Luther King Jr. Auditorium

601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401

Sunday, July 12, 2009
2:00 PM

The modern Yiddish theatre came into being in Romania in 1876. Its goal was to convey middle-class Western European standards of education and enlightenment to "uneducated" Jews. In this sense, the Yiddish stage was designed as an institution for and by Jews, but when it moved to the Lower East Side of New York City it also became a venue for cultural exchange between Jews and non-Jews. The Yiddish theater district—centered on Manhattan's Second Avenue—was home to dozens of Yiddish theater troupes, theatrical establishments and vaudeville houses, and the stage was the main cultural institution of the immigrant Jewish community.

JGSLA board member, Hale Porter has spent a lifetime in and around Yiddish theater and radio. The years spent working as an entertainer in the Catskills and on Second Avenue provided him vibrant experiences to share and nostalgic stories to tell.

In this program he will offer "Mazto ball soup for the soul," including music, laughs, film clips and more, explaining how Yiddish theater, radio and music have influenced American culture.