'One of Those' – A Yiddish Play by Paula Prilutski in Translation

Theatrical Performance Admission: $15 YIVO members: $10

YIVO presents another of its Treasures From The Archives: a rehearsed reading of Paula Prilutski’s rediscovered masterwork ONE OF THOSE, a proto-feminist drama about an independent woman living in an un-free world. 

Judith Zaltsman, 21, cannot resign herself to the recent loss of her mother, nor can she bear her father’s second wife taking her mother’s place.  Unable to remain at home, and with no options available, the strong-willed Judith makes choices she will forever regret; and despite her best efforts and the help of family and friends, Judith will find herself unable to escape the chains of her history.

The reading will be in English, in a newly-commissioned translation by director/translator Allen Lewis Rickman.

Though originally presented by the legendary Esther-Rokhl Kaminska — “The Mother of Yiddish Theater” — in her own theater in Warsaw in 1912, ONE OF THOSE, said Rickman, “feels incredibly modern. There are no heroes or villains; as Renoir put it, ‘everyone has his reasons’. In fact, everything about this play — the themes, the constantly-surprising characters, the subtlety of the exposition, the naturalistic dialogue — everything except the authenticity of the milieu — makes you think it was written much later than 1912”. 

The cast for the reading, made up of Broadway and Off-Broadway veterans, includes Susan Barrett, Ruthy Froch, Regina Gibson, Abby Goldfarb, Lisa Hammer, Susan Jacks, Samantha Maurice, Lauren Milberger, Kevin Sebastian, Yelena Shmulenson, Daniel Robert Sullivan, Jackie Sydney, Peter Van Wagner, Anya Zicer, and Boris Zilberman.

The reading will benefit YIVO’s new online class on the Yiddish Theater, Oh Mama I’m in Love! The Story of the Yiddish Stage. As a special thank-you when you sign up for this event, you will receive a link with a discount for the course.