The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-10-24
LTHoUGH Yiddish theatres are to b

A LTHOUGH Yiddish theatres are to be
"A found throughout the lower East
\ Side of New York a certain small
section between the Bowery and Tompkins
square aims to be called the Yiddish Rialto.
BY night this block is a raInpow-lit PAN
Drama so dazzling (and so garish) that it
makes the proud White Way uptown look
like twilight. Whatever they may be by
day, and good many of them are some
thing else, when night falls all the buildings
are places of entertainment. Movies are thick
there, so are burlesque shows and beyond
the brilliant lights of what without them
would look very like the entrance to a cellar
sacrifices are made to Melpomene, muse of
tragedy.
The upper floors OF buildings are utilized
to hold the crowds that come downtown
by way of the Second avenue 81" railway
who wish to be entertained, and in the sum-
mer season the roofs re largely patronZed.
All the year round the designation of roof
garden continues to be applied, howbeit the
shows have moved down under cover. That
is the case of the National Winter Garden,
although it hasn't descended lower than the
sixth floor The National offers a burlesque
show with 40-Beautiful Babes-40, you
can see their portraits in full length oil
while you are undecided about going up to
see the show After you have seen them you
always take the elevator.
The Real Attraction.
Ravishingly as the beautiful babes float
upon the boards and sternly as Minsl1y holds
them to their proper steps, late their
gowns begin and early as they finish white
as are their teeth and arch their smiles,
these giggling, romping, munching creatures
are but accessories to success. The draw
ic di~l,
audience has come, some of it miles, to
laugh at and applaud couple of comedians
who nightly improvise dialogue in that
strange, misunderstood tongue. Several of
Minsky's star dialoguests have gone from
under his aegis to that upper heaven of
Broadway and these successors are surely
bound that way.
1t is by intuition only that one describes
the dialogue of these rough comedians as
improvised; by intuition, too, one feels that
occasionally new word of Yiddish is born
with them. 1t always gains admttance to
the minds of the collaborating audience
For moment only they hesitate while the
new wcrd Graves admittance; then they see
its meaning, applaud and adopt it as one
man.
How strange it feels to be present at the
ACCOMPLISHMENT of a word nobody can tell I'M
til he has had the experience. Perhaps the
uptown managers who come to these little
theatres in search of strange talent to put
new blood in their shows more in
fiuenced IN their choice by this rare quality
than by the acting talent of the performers.
Whatever decides these managers, they are
beginning to look upon the Yiddish theatre
as sort of incubator to their own, and
they draw upon II more and more every
season. Bertha Kalish had her beginning in
it; Celia Adler and Hannah Toback are it's
fruits of the present season and there arc
others. The cast of the Jewish play
being done at the Irving Place Theatre was
largely drawn from the ranks of Yiddish
players.
Now what is Yiddish. the very sound OF
which raises a laugh? Is it language? Is