The Spectacular Story Of S. Anski’s The Dybbuk and How it Transformed American Jewish Theatre

July 26, 2021 - July 27, 2021, 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm

The Dybbuk, a play written a century ago by S. Ansky, is the most renowned work of the Jewish dramatic canon. The first performance took place in Warsaw on December 9, 1920, where it was staged by the Vilna Troupe in commemoration of the dramatist’s death. It was a smashing success that reverberated throughout the Jewish world. One year later, on January 31, 1922, the Hebrew-language Habima theater staged its interpretation of the play in Moscow in a production whose bold modernism made theater history.

Since its premiere in 1920 The Dybbuk has been revived countless times in both Jewish and non-Jewish languages and inspired a substantial corpus of works in various media: it was famously filmed in Yiddish 1936 in Warsaw, and to this day has fired the imagination of artists and writers around the globe. Join Dr. Edna Nahshon to discuss this unique play and its various interpretations, focusing on its two foundational productions and the 1936 Polish Yiddish film.

If you have previously registered for another session in this series, your registration admits you to all sessions in the series, and you may attend as many as you’d like.