געוואַלד מיין געלט (1925)
Source: Museum of the City of New York
Translation:
Boris Thomashefsky presents the king of all Yiddish actors: Yitzchak Ajzyk Samberg will perform for the first time in America, the famous masterpiece from Molière:
Help my Money! [translation of Yiddish title from Museum of the City of New York: its original English name is The Miser]
- With participation from the Ensemble of Gayety Theater
- First appearance of Helen Blay
- The prices aren’t high, and it won’t stay this way
- Benefits [discounts] in tickets offered for members, rabbis, and private companies: receive discounted tickets — contact the manager
Yitzchak Ajzyk Samberg, the king of all Yiddish actors, has the role of all time! Played 300 times in Warsaw, 101 times in Lodz, 150 times in Vilna, 206 times in Kiev, 150 in Paris, 100 in London, 200 in Buenos Aires. All critics are invited Thursday night for the premiere performance of Yitzchak Ajzyk Samberg!
Call to all countrymen — Warsaw, Łódź, Vilna, Kiev, Białystok! Come and honor him because he deserves honor! The king is no longer in Warsaw, and he came to Boris Thomashefsky!
About the Poster:
Trio Press published this poster in 1925 to introduce a new production presented by the Gayety Theater in Brooklyn. The Gayety Theater (1892-1932) mainly featured high-class burlesque, but on occasion, Yiddish plays. This particular play was produced by Boris Thomashefsky, a Ukrainian born actor who is considered largely responsible for the emergence of Yiddish theater in the United States. Thomashefsky acted and sang immediately upon his arrival in the United States. He began producing and directing plays at the age of 13, and was very successful. He met his wife, who was 14 years old at the time, and married her soon after. They went on to act and produce as a couple.
Thomashefsky enjoyed presenting Yiddish versions of classic plays, including Yiddish King Lear, Yiddish Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and many others, often giving them more culturally Yiddish endings. His production of Molière’s The Miser was advertised heavily, as Thomashefsky had secured a famous Yiddish actor for the lead role: Yitzchak “Ajzyk” Samberg was to perform as Harpagon’s character, the miser (it is unclear whether Thomashefksy chose to keep the original French names of the characters). Ajzyk Samberg was an actor born in Warsaw, Poland in 1889. Today, he is mainly known for his roles in Der Dybbuk, The Jester, and Pan Tadeusz. He performed in an acting group called Vilna Troupe, which traveled across the globe to act in various plays; the list of cities on the poster refers to places in which Vilna Troupe performed. Samberg was always the most popular actor in his group, which is why his role in געוואַלד מיין געלט (The Miser) was sure to bring in such a large audience that Thomashefsky felt comfortable advertising discounted tickets.
The Miser is about a man that is wealthy enough to live the rest of his life doing nothing. This wealth does not stop him from trying to marry off his only daughter to a rich old man in order to avoid paying a dowry. It also does not prevent him from attempting to marry his son’s young, beautiful beloved. The play was meant to be a satire, so it would fit have fit in well with Yiddish culture.
Sources:
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “The Miser.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 19 Nov. 2019, https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Miser-play-by-Moliere.
“Gayety Theatre in Brooklyn, NY – Cinema Treasures.” Cinema Treasures, http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/36366.
Caplan, Debra. Yiddish Empire: the Vilna Troupe, Jewish Theater, and the Art of Itinerancy. University of Michigan Press, 2018.
Boris Thomashefsky, https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/boris-thomashefsky.
