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

Date: Jul 26, 2021 - Jul 26, 2021

Time: 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Sponsor: Online Learning

Location: Online

Category: Online Learning


The Global Journey of a Jewish Stage Play: The Spectacular Story Of S. Anski’s The Dybbuk and How it Transformed American Jewish Theatre

Part of our summer learning series, “A Wandering People: Jewish Journeys, Real and Imagined”

July 26, 2021, 2:00–3:30 p.m. ET

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. 

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About the Series

As the pandemic surged and forced us into our homes, many of us dreamed with new intensity of being elsewhere. For Jews throughout the ages, the promises and perils of travel have been central to shaping the individual and collective experience. Notions of home and homeland have been redefined by Jewish wandering. Drawing on literary, spiritual, and historical sources and responses, JTS scholars will explore what happens when Jews—whether by force or voluntarily, whether in reality or in the imagination—travel from one place to another. View all sessions in the series

Note: The Zoom link for this session will be in the confirmation email that you will receive after you register.