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After a couple of years of wandering in the
gentile world, Molly Picon now has returned to the Yiddish stage,
and we again have for ourselves this well-known threesome -- Molly
Picon, Joseph Rumshinsky and Jacob Kalich.
It is clear that
the Jewish community has longed for its pet because it received
Molly Picon with a special warmth, I would say even with true love.
And she justly deserves such a relationship: The charming,
playful and moving Molly Picon has special qualities with which she
wins the hearts of the audience. Something childish, innocent is
felt in her way of playing; and even a double-edged joke or saying
comes out quite clean and innocent with her, because she is not
vulnerable, not rude by her nature.
And her true talent lies
in comedy; This feels especially poignant in her playing in Ossip
Dymow's new operetta, "Here Runs the Bride," in which she now
performs. In the comic scenes, in the light satirical imitations,
she feels like a fish in water. With her lively gestures, with her
moveable face and with her expressive eyes, she
achieves the desired comic impression even where it is sometimes not
very funny, not very comical. After all, she always plays herself,
-- the charming, mischievous Molly.
In Dymow's new operetta, "Here
Runs the Bride," she, you understand, the bride, who "runs." She
runs here from her unknown husband, even from under the khupe.
She, a poor orphan, here is disguised as the son of a rabbi here
with the sole purpose of saving him from military service in the
Czarist army. She doesn't want such a match, and she flees. The
groom also doesn't want to marry an unknown bride, and he also flees
from the forced wedding.
The runaway bride yearns for an
unknown young man whom she met on the train prior to her wedding;
and the runaway groom also longs for the unknown girl whom he met on
the way to his wedding, The fleeing bride longs for the unknown
young man who she had met on a train, as she travels to her wedding; and
the fleeing husband also longs for the unknown girl whom he met on the
way to his wedding, although both did not see the other during their
meeting. (That's what the course of the operetta demands, and you
can't help yourself here...)
The bride flees in men's clothing and falls into the military
(don't ask any questions, I beg you!...) The bridegroom also falls
into the same place; and here, in the barracks, they both meet; and
it reveals to both the great secret of both of their longing and
their own broken marriage [plans], and love wins under the funny sounds
of happy wedding music.
This is the naive, artistic content
of Dymow's new operetta, which is richly staged by Kalich and
accompanied by Rumshinsky's loud, rhythmic music.
Kalich
obviously has put in a lot of work. He has inserted scenes and
pictures from all over the world. It feels here that there are
echoes from several until-now successful productions; here one feels
certain echoes of the "Dybbuk," from "Yoshe Kalb," from Sholem
Aleichem, and even from "The Wise Men of Chelm."
And he has set aside all of the scenes and pictures with a wide
range, with rich furnishings and with various effects. It shines and
glitters from the stage from the colorful clothes and from the gilded and silvered
decorations.
You have different kinds of styles and
different kinds of types and ways of life. You have here soldiers,
Hasidim, Gentiles, Jews, men and women, and even a little angel as
an addition; and they all run before our eyes like comic
silhouettes, like light funny operetta characters that float before
our eyes and disappear along with the rhythmic sound under which
they move.
You have all the good things here; here you have this
"pintele yid," and even internationalism;
Mogen-Dovid's red and blue-white flag, nationalistic and
revolutionary motives and whatever you want for yourself.
The comedy of the
operetta is connected not so much with the actions as with the side,
stuck-in scenes, jokes and witticisms.
Unfortunately, there is a part
of this that is not very new, not very fresh; but when a few good
actors, such as, for example, Molly Piicon or Michael Rosenberg take
over, we forget that we have already heard everything already, and we
continue to laugh.
The music is well adpated to the impetus
of the acting and dance that accompanies it in the new
operetta.
The acting of most of the participants is generally
maintained in the spirit and rhythm of the operetta.
In
addition to Molly Piccon's transparent, light and enjoyable acting,
we have some other comic characters.
In a grotesque, easy
way, the temperamental Annie Thomashefsky, in the role of a mother,
has in herself a sea of energy and the full nine measures of speech.
A
cunning Sholem Aleichem ideal is presented by the cunning Michael
Rosenberg (Ah, when he also has the right, suitable role!)
Comical is the old man and eternally young Sam Kasten in the role of
the Jew who should get a slap from "Natshalstva," and who gets a
medal instead.
Lively and with temperament is Gertie Bulman
as Tsipe, who is weak, gets a husband, and who, for that reason,
does not get too weak in the heart.
Annie Hoffman is a small,
stirring city grandmother who draws attention with her comic acting.
Two genuine well-known Gentile-types are portrayed by Moshe Feder
(Alfeldfebel) and Boris Rosenthal (as the Conductor).
The
main singing roles belong to Leon Gold, Muni Serebroff, and Selma
Kantor. Leon Gold is a popular singer with a strong voice, and Muni
Serebroff is a typical, handsome lover; Selma Kantor sings quite
impressively.
Rose Greenfield is an imposing
wife of a rabbi, and Nadia Dranova does the best that she can in the
role of an undetermined Jewish woman Chana.
Dave Lubritsky is
in the role of a chimney sweep and dances and acts like a chimney
sweep.
And Efrim'l Schechter is a young man who shows the
abilities of an actor.
The dances are arranged by Ilya
Trilling.
"Here Comes the Bride" is, as we see, a cheerful,
light operetta that is a funny, light operetta that can stand out
among the general public.
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