The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-03-21

cream PLAY" HOKUM
Acting of Joseph BuIov Redeem
ing Feature of Yiddish Art
Theatre Production.
reviewed by A. B. MAGIL.

The dream play is an ancient, we'll
worn device. It's long frocl coat is
shiny and rather frayed at the ell
bows. | suggest it's about time the
dream play be thrown into the ash
can. Under it's fragile, delicately
palpitating wings an author can
shelter his most precious hokum. If
a playwright wants to be shamelessly
maudlin, all he has to do is to say,
"Once upon a time, and the audience
Immediately surrenders up its brains.
l am moved to these dark thoughts
by contemplation of piece entitled
"Yoshke Musikant" and tearfully sub
titled "The Singer of Sorrow, which
the Yiddish Art Theatre is produc-
ing.
Ossyp Dymow, the author, has
something of reputation in Yiddish
literature, based on a number of plays
and short stories. "Yoshke Musi-
kant" was written in 1912 and per-
formed many times throughout
Europe. It's first American produc-
ton was by a cast which included
Jacob Ben-Ami and Rudolph Schild-
lraut. Schildkraut revived it last
year under the direction of the au-
thor. The present production, which
is in honor Of the twenty-fifth an
niversary of Dymow's literary activ-
ity, was directed by Joseph Bulov,
who also plays the leading role
"Yoshke Musikant," has for its
underlying theme an old Yiddish folk
sopg- and concerns a shy little village
musician who loves a stalwart, hand
some servant girl. She is Indifferent
to his affection, being involved in a
liaison with the son of her mistress,
who trifles with her and then for
sakes her. Yoshke, being the village
letter-writcr as well, is impressed in
to service to write to her faithless
lover and beg him to return. Yosh-
ke's varying fortunes, the pathos of
his love, his guilelessness and ulti-
mate disaster form the substance of
the play. In him is meant to be
embodied something of the poetry and
the frail, imperishable usefulness of
humankind.
But it is all emasculated and senti- |
mentalized. The writing is shipshod
and the author never seems to be
certain of what he wants to say. At
critical moments the play, like Ste
phen Leacock's young man., simply
rides off madly in all directions.
Joseph Bulov, who creates the title !
role, is the only one of the actors
who seems to understand something
of the themes inner harmony that !
the author dimly and fumblingly tried
to convey. His acting is delicate and
achieves a shy, forlorn beauty that is
as intangible as it is profound.
In his direction too Bulov seems
to know just what effects should be
striven for. But he is handicapped |
by the fact that nearly all Jewish /
actors become numbering tyros of the /
school when they are I
called upon to do anything in the I
spirit Of fantasy. The Yiddish stage I
in the past has concerned itself too /
rigidly with naturalistic drama and I
technique Frequently in
debased, melodramatic form) that its
actors have grown up in an inflexible /
tradition which would require many
years of schooling. to uproot. Put a
Yiddish actor in realistic three or /
four-act drama and he is incompar-
ably versatile. But in fantasy he is
a burlesque comedian Bllov did
about all he could with the materials
that he had And in his own role
he did much more.