Image Source: Museum of the City of New York

Abie’s Irish Rose is a comedy written by the playwright, Anne Nichols. The play has been adapted into many stage productions, films (in 1928 and 1946) and radio performances. At the time, the Broadway production was the longest run in history, with 2,327 performances in five years. Nichols is most well-known for Abie’s Irish Roseand loosely based the play off of her own experiences. She belonged to a Baptist family while growing up and married an Irish Catholic man. Even though she later divorced her husband, Nichols uses the blending of two cultures as inspiration for her play.

While not on Broadway, this particular production took place at the Teller’s Shubert Theatre in Brooklyn. The theatre opened in October 1910 and was known as the Sam S. Shubert Theatre. The venue, however, could not compete with the other theaters opening nearby, so the original owners sold the place. The newly-named Teller’s Shubert Theatre featured plays and dance performances, and even included movies by the 1920s. New management took over in 1928 and changed the name to the Century Theatre. Unable to keep up with the demands of the public, the theatre closed in the early ‘40s.

Image Source: Cinema Treasures

Image Source: Cinema Treasures

The plot revolves around a Jewish father and son. The father insists that his son marry an Orthodox Jewish woman, but he marries an Irish Catholic woman instead and asks his wife to pretend to be Jewish. Their plan succeeds until the bride’s father arrives in New York and is angered that his daughter did not marry a Catholic Irishman. The two fathers argue, but in a comedic turn of events, the priest and the rabbi become friendly with each other. The comedy’s final act begins a year later, with both fathers renouncing their respective child. The couple celebrates the birth of twins, but the fathers only think one child has been born. During the holiday season, both fathers go to the couple’s home with presents. One brings a gift for a male child, while the other brings a gift for a female child. When the couple tells the fathers that the twins possess the names of each grandparent, they finally accept their children’s union. The comedy ends with the Jewish father questioning the rigidity of orthodoxy.

Initial reactions to the play were mixed. Even though on a monetary level, the play was a huge success, theatre critics expressed their hatred for it. Despite this, its popularity amongst the public allowed it to have a legacy. Many television shows are based off of the play’s premise, such as CBS’s Bridget Loves Bernie(1972). The show, however, was cancelled after one season when many Jewish groups expressed disdain for the show’s promotion of interfaith marriage. Twenty years later, CBS decided to pursue a different show that includes a similar premise, Brooklyn Bridge(1991), as social attitudes towards interfaith marriage were becoming more progressive in America. The show received much critical acclaim and won a Golden Globe and was nominated for multiple Emmys.

Translation of Poster:

Teller’s Shubert Theatre

Broadway and Howard Avenue

Now playing‫!

Abie’s Irish Rose

Without moving pictures

Popular price

Works Cited:

Harris, Warren G. “Century Theatre.” Cinema Treasures. http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/8279

Krebs, Albin. “‘Bridget Loves Bernie’ Attacked by Jewish Groups.” New York Times, 1973. https://www.nytimes.com/1973/02/07/archives/bridget-loves-bernie-attacked-by-jewish-groups.html

Merwin, Ted. “The Performance of Jewish Ethnicity in Anne Nichols’ ‘Abie’s Irish Rose.’” Journal of American Ethnic History, vol. 20, no. 2, 2001, pp. 3–37. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27502675?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents