Existing comment:
Immigrant Shakespeare:
Theatre -- especially comedy and variety shows -- was a popular form of entertainment for the thousands of immigrants who arrived form the mid-19th century through the years up to World War I. These Germans, Poles, Russians, Italians and other European immigrants settled on the East Coast but also traveled westward. Soon they supported Shakespeare in translation to in bilingual productions.
Immigrant groups developed their own theaters. Antonio Maiori presented an Italian Hamlet in New York's Bowery around 1901. At the same time, Yiddish productions adapted Shakespeare's plots to reflect their personal experiences. Jacob Adler (1855-1926), a Russian Jewish actor, became famous as Shylock, a role which he premiered in a Yiddish theater in the Bowery. When he was asked to perform the role on Broadway in 1903, he did so in Yiddish with an English-speaking cast.
Big-name Italian and German actors such as Fanny Janauschek (1830-1904) and Adelaide Ristori (1822-1906) as Lady Macbeth, and Tommaso Salvini (1829-1916) as Othello, Hamlet and King Lear, visited America. They toured the country, performing Shakespearean roles in German and Italian in English-speaking productions. |