The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-10-24
David Pinski, Author
of THE Treasure"
Now Playing in a
Translation, Is the
Sixth Writer in This
Tongue, Constructed
on the Bible

Many Of these little plays are drawn on by
amateur organizations in this country, both
Gentle and Jewish.
The visits OF uptown managers to the East
Side theatres Of the people are not however
these astute gentlemen may disguise their
purpose, expeditions of Haroun AL Raschid
in the back streets of Bagdad or adventures
of Stevenson's Prince Florzei in London's
mean streets. No. when they are seen in
the vicinity of East Houston and Grand
streets the managers are on foraging ex-
petition for new talent.
1t was on such a prowl that Broadway
manager saw Bertha Kalsh, and the ex-
pertinent was tried of making an English
speaking star of this statuesque and tall
ented player in Yiddish The event in its
inception did not prove so happy and the
star found various unexpected obstacles TO
overcome. She did overcome them as much
by hard work as by natural talent Her
career has been an Indictment to ambitious
longings in many Yiddish actresses heart
but how few have ever been given the won
derful opportunities that fell to Kalishl A
Tolstoyan star, Wanna in Mona Wanna" en-
gagged for the lead in the New Theatre
certainly this womans lines after her trans
tiguration fell in happy places.
After a long diet of chicken IN king
how appealing and appetizing seems gou-
lash, smoking hot! The dainty appetite
has tired of trihes and braces itself to tackle
strong f1avors But the proper surfeit has
to be attained, and here the uptown man
ayers sometimes guess wrong. They made
no mistake when they tempted Sophie
Tucker from the Bowery but they We're at
fault when they brought another contralto'
from East Side cafe and pushed her int
vaudeville with the announcement of her
beginnings. weeks trial sent this last
find back to obscurity. Undaunted by this
failure, II is rumored that Yiddish Theresa
who has charmed her East Side friends
from the time, long ago, when she still
youthful, is shortly to be transplanted to the
Palace. She has arrived at the time of her
career when she feels like making a speech
and throwing a kiss nightly to her audience.
This is indeed the sere and yellow leaf of
vaudeville
True Novelty on the Yiddish Rialto.
Really, in the melodramatlc houses of the
Yiddish Rialto is the true novelty to be
found there hero. heroine and villain OF
the oldtime strength. creatures that have
long since disappeared from sophisticated
and blase Broadway, exist in numbers
There may still be seen the heroine who
has always been as moral--if not more So
as Clarissa Harlowe; there still swaggers
the hero, virtuous without maw1ishness
pugnacious and forever knocking out the
last named the East Side Is a hot place.
Kisses he never escapes; the people hiss as
he comes on without waiting TO hear him
speak. How hardly the poor actor earns his
salary unless he is able to discriminate be
tween the hiss aesthetic and the hiss ethical!
Celia Adler, transported as she has been
from a Yiddish theatre to the Garrick, has
as the children say, changed her name, but
not her nature. In other words, less cryptic
she Is playing a role in the latter theatre
which she would play In the former without
changing a tone. She has been successful in
the transplanting and may never play tn,
East Side houses again.
But the environment of that other recruit
from the Yddsh nursery, Hannah Toback
who stands out as a feature in the great
spectacle Mecca" is as different as a back
room on Hester street Is from the reQdine
room in the public library So quick q
change was enough TO turn the head, and
then the gorgeousness and the thousandfold
rivalry scarcely could have been combatei
Miss Toback emerged triumphant from tho
ordeal and stood a personality unenaced by
environment and apparently ineffaceable II
Is not an easy matter TO turn Yiddlsh
head.
The Broadway managers tell us that new
talent as II seeks an avenue Of expression by
means OF their productions has n wearisome
ssmeness. The young actresses are pretty.
are talented. but they look alike speak alike
sing alike--t Is as IL they had been turned
out by the hundred gross. They search the
talent far afeld. even In the
ghetto, and occasionally they are rewarded
In the success Of THE Treasure" they take
heart; perhaps the Yddsh theatre is going
10 prove an incubator for playwrights as
well as foi actors