The Denver Jewish news., 1921-03-23
THE YIDDLSH PLAY BY THE
FRIENDS OF ART AND ILTERA-
TURE AT THE WOMAN'S CLUB.
BY DR.. c. ID. sPIvAK.

Friends of Art and Literature" for
the benefit of Medical Relief to Rus.
STA. my memory reverted to them
Happy days" of 1883 in Philadelphia.
when group of amateurs gave n ben
eft performance for the families of
those who persisted in the disastrous
Rowery fire in New York which had
then aroused universal sympathy.
Three Of these amateurs are now
residing in Denver: Mr.. Passover
Gather of DIR. Lucy Passover of Den
ver) My dear wife, then Miss Char
say, and the writer of these lines. now
an old fogey. The play was in Rus
sian-- "Zhenitba," by the famous
writer Gogol. l shall never forget
those preliminary readings, the inter,
ninable rehearsals terminating IN the
wee hours of the morning, the flut-
tering of the heart Mt the entrances
while waiting for the cue. and the
binding dazzle of the footlights This
was my first and last appearance OF,
the stage, but that experience taught
me to love all amateur actors and
amateur performances. There is
warm spot in my heart for these
idealists. I xnow something of their
sorrows and eNaltations. 1t is from
their midst that the future talents
arise. For 1 have not seen single
amateur performance but l have dis
cerned in one or ntore of the per
formers the divine spark of his
triOnic embryo.
Der Unbekanter" is the name of
the play by Jacob Gordin, the found
or of the modern Yiddish drama. 1t
is not Jewish play. There is nothing
Jewish about it. Neither the plot. nor
the denoument has any Jewish trait
or flavor about it. The eternal tri-
angle is the theme. Kurshinsky
(Charles Lessin) loves Bertha (Flor-
ence NJ. Samburg) the wife of Bernard
Silberman (M. KaplanD. Kurshinsky
is an egoist. Silberman Is an altruist.
Both are represented rs honest and
truth seeking individuals. They differ
in their views as to the Interpretation
of the ninth commandment-Thou
shalt not covet. After a frank discus
sion of situation, there seem to be no
other solution possible that that one
Of them should commit suicide. They
draw lots. The egoist draws the slip
with the word life" written on it, hut
he prefers to tell his friend that he
drew the death" slip, and he commits
suicide. He dies presumably hero
--he sacrificed his life and thereby
controdicted all his lifes' principles Of
an egoist. but in reality he is weak
ling and knave. There was II child
born from the Illicit love the paren.
tage of which remains unknown to
Bertha's husband. Both are weak
persons. The altruist is weak physical.
ly and the egoist is weak morally
ono has not enough courage to hear
the truth and the other to tell it. The
three actors played their parts credit
ably.
Nina Gamma Spanier) is introduced
by Gordon as the real heroine. She
makes up for the lack of heroic quail
ties in the two competing mats Mira
loves the altruist Silberman. She hears
her sufferings stoically and suppresses
her emotions laudably. She does not
think of suicide. She loves everybody
She understands the weaknesses an"
frailties of the people around her. The
part is difficult and complex. ana
gives an opportunity for the display Of
alternating sudden burst or emo
tiOn lasting but few moments to lie
followed by self mostery-Mrs. Spani
er rose to the occasion in scene
where the altruist tells Nina that with
I,iS haoI ha lOyns har hnt with his