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DECEMBER 2003


Profile:

Zalmen Mlotek & the Yiddish Theater
by Joanna Leefer

In the early 20th century, New York City was the host to two dozen Yiddish Theaters troupes entertaining more than two million people. As Jewish immigrants assimilated and moved out of the city, the audience dwindled. Today only one of these theaters survives: The Folksbiene.  Now in its 89th year, it is guided by its impassioned executive director, Zalmen Mlotek, who believes "We have a treasure in Yiddish cultureÉit's not just a window into the past; it's a vibrant way of expressing JewishnessÉin a non-threatening, non-religious way." His mission is to "present Yiddish cultural events with enough English culture to attract new audiences."

One of Mlotek's newest contributions to Yiddish theater is the addition of super titles to all his productions. As with opera, Mlotek believes this addition will allow a non-Yiddish speaking audience to "enjoy this rich tradition."

Mlotek also hopes to interest young people in the Yiddish productions. He is accomplishing this through the creation of the Folksbiene Company's Kids and Yiddish Theater productions. Now in its 5th season, Mlotek hopes this series will "Éunite the generations, and make Yiddish broadly accessible in a multi-cultural city."

This year's production for children is a whimsical combination of magic and music woven together in the theatrical production called "Farmisht and Far-Fetched!" This zany comedy is directed by Joanne Borts with musical direction by Zalmen Mlotek. Mlotek describes the show as a blend of "Saturday Night Live and Sesame Street, intertwined with English and Yiddish." The production, which opened recently at Manhattan's Jewish Community Center, is a fusion of Yiddish and English, with a dash of hip-hop. The cast includes five children actors between the ages of 9 and 17 years old, and the internationally acclaimed musician/magician Josh Dolgin who is known for combining hip-hop and Klezmer on stage and in recordings.

This year Moltek also presents a revival of The Lady Next Door, a comedic drama originally introduced and performed in 1916 as Di Nekstdorike. The original production, written by Leon Kobrin, depicted real life conditions in a Jewish tenement.

Although Motlek feels it's important to know the background of Yiddish Theater, he is not a purist. He feels Yiddish Theater should evolve. "Every generation should put a personal stamp on it, as long as it translates and turns someone on."

Zalmen Mlotek is not a stranger to Yiddish theater.  "I grew up with Yiddish. To me, Yiddish is a living, breathing life style." Mlotek's father and mother were both prominent figures in the Jewish cultural community. His mother, Hannah, a publisher of several Yiddish musical anthologies, was honored recently by the  Milken Foundation. His father, Joseph, was a producer of Yiddish festivals in the U.S.

Both his parents were regular contributors to the Jewish Forward, a weekly Yiddish newspaper. Their columns answered reader's questions about titles and origins of fragments of old Yiddish songs. After research they identified the songs and later published them in their entirety. Issac Bashevis Singer, the Nobel-prize winning Yiddish writer, referred to the elder Mloteks as the "Sherlock Holmes of Yiddish songs."

Zalman Mlotek describes his life as a "natural evolution to become involved in Yiddish music, theater, language and culture." He attended Workman Circle schools, then studied at Juilliard, and with Leonard Bernstein. He began conducting shows in Yiddish summer camps in the Catskills. He now travels extensively, as a one-man ambassador, to Russia and Europe, conducting classes and workshops on Yiddish theater.

The first Yiddish theater in America began in 1882, an outgrowth of the Purim plays of the 1770s in Europe. Thanks to Mlotek, the tradition is "alive and well" and expanding around the world.#

 

 

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