The 100th anniversary of the Yiddish theater will be celebrated in Israel by a series of events now under preparation by the Theater Archives and Museum in Jerusalem.
Outstanding among them will be a comprehensive exhibition depicting the history of the Yiddish theater since the early days of its founder, Avraham Goldfaden. It will include, inter alia, a display of manuscripts and first editions of early plays, photographs from theater performances over the years in various countries, portraits of famous actors in their major roles, volumes of their memoirs, old theater bills and other memorabilia.
The Theater Archives and Museum, established 10 years ago, has acquired a rich collection of invaluable material pertaining to the history of the Yiddish and Hebrew theaters, including the important archives of the late Zalman Zilberzweig, author of the six-volume Lexicon of the Jewish Theater comprising thousands of documents and a unique library.
Since its establishment, the Theater Archives has arranged a series of exhibits and has established an annual prize for outstanding performance bearing the name of one of Israel’s foremost actors, Meir Margalit. It serves as an important research center for students of the theater.
The Theater Archive’s Board, headed by former Cabinet Minister Moshe Kol, said that it would be grateful to all those in possession of any material connected with the Yiddish theater if they would contribute it — either in the original or copies — and thus lend a hand in the important task of assembling and saving from oblivion the treasures of the Yiddish theater.
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