An event commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the death of Jacob Gordin.
In 1891, the writer and social activist Jakov Mikhailovich Gordin landed on the Lower East Side and met the great actor Jacob Adler, who urged him to write for the stage. Five months later, though Gordin had never before written for the theater or in Yiddish, he had completed three Yiddish plays, and Adler had produced and starred in two of them.
A born teacher and reformer, Gordin was determined to elevate the Yiddish theater, with its operettas, melodramas and shtick, to introduce immigrant audiences to the Theater of Realism. In 1892 came The Jewish King Lear, his breakthrough play and one of Adler’s most beloved and important lifelong roles.
During his eighteen years in America, Gordin wrote some 70 plays and countless one-acts and stories, and established newspapers, magazines, theater workshops and a school. His plays were produced all over the world. Many actors, including Adler’s daughter Stella, began their careers in Gordin plays. He became known as the Jewish Shakespeare, Lion of the Jewish stage, and his era as “The Golden Age of the Yiddish Theatre.”
One of Gordin’s eleven children was Nadia, Beth Kaplan’s grandmother. Ms. Kaplan, a writer, teacher and actress, spent years tracking down her ancestor’s controversial story for her book, Finding the Jewish Shakespeare: the Life and Legacy of Jacob Gordin.
On the 100th anniversary of Gordin’s death, Ms. Kaplan will speak about her ancestor’s life and theater. The evening will include readings of brief excerpts from Gordin plays, read by actors from the Harold Clurman Laboratory Theater Company.
New York City, NY; NYC