RE: Yiddish Musical Theatre/Info. needed

[Reyzl Kalifowicz-Waletzky <reyzl...>]

The person I was talking to said, "Brandies will probably get it", so I 
assume that they are/have been in negotiation.

Although I doubt the NYBC is interested, I cc'ed my private response to 
Jacob's post to Aaron Lansky so Aaron knows.

There is no question for me that this collection belongs in YIVO.  They are 
very well aware of the collection and they will do/are doing/have done 
whatever they can/want to do.   My interests in the YIVO archives lies 
elsewhere, so I have no interest in getting involved in this particular 
matter.

I think that the other interested organizations are very well aware of the 
collection.  It has been "on sale" for some time now.  I am not involved in 
any of it and I don't care to get involved either.

Mr. Rexite who has become old and weak, since his wife's death. Deals can 
take a long time and who knows how long he will live.  What is important 
now for someone to do is to sit down with him and collect his stories and 
recollections about whatever he wants to talk about.  Then let those 
recordings go where ever they may go with the other papers.  If you are 
interested in helping with this, then I suggest that, if you are a scholar, 
you get in touch with him.   If you are not a scholar, then suggest to 
theater scholars to study with him.   I think that this would be the most 
helpful thing you can do.   I say this because he isn't letting go of his 
control so fast and I don't see anyone paying his price so fast either. 
 Who knows, maybe the interested parties are waiting for the next Union 
president to give it away for free and for someone else to sit down with 
the scholars.  Who knows.


Reyzl



----------
From:  Trudi Goodman [SMTP:goobietheg (at) hotmail(dot)com]
Sent:  Friday, January 07, 2000 7:12 PM
To:  World music from a Jewish slant
Subject:  RE: Yiddish Musical Theatre/Info. needed

   Jacob/Reyzl:
   I've got a couple of ideas....one is to query the Acting Department at
Brandeis University. I seem to remember that they have some background with 
Yiddish Theatre. I know that they have had donations from the Muni Estate.
   The other is that does the National Yiddish Book Center have a person to 
get in touch with? I, for one would be more than happy, as an actor to
donate my time to help with this.  If more actors and people who love
theatre know, I'm sure that they would too. After all, a great many of us
performers are influenced by the Yiddish Greats!! I'm just wondering if
there's a person, or a name that I go to at National Yiddish Book Center?
   Please let me know.
   Trudi Goodman
    trudigoodman (at) yahoo(dot)com


>From: bloom (at) gis(dot)net (Bloom)
>Reply-To: jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org
>To: World music from a Jewish slant <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
>Subject: RE: Yiddish musical theater books
>Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2000 23:00:27 -0500 (EST)
>
>Reyzl,
>
>Regarding the Hebrew Actors Union archive:
>
>The National Yiddish Book Center might be willing to take on the job of
>raising $100,000 to preserve the archive.  They seem to be very good at
>raising whatever it takes to keep Yiddish culture from disappearing, under
>desperate conditions.
>
>Of course, if some other organization is willing to take on the job, 
that's
>fine with me, as long as the archive is saved, and then made available.
>I'm willing to make a contribution to the cause.
>
>Jacob Bloom
>
>
>Reyzl wrote:
>
>Judy,
>
> >There are very few works that provide _musical analysis_ as well as
>history
> >of who wrote what title or show. There is a lot of work to be done and
>the
> >history of Yiddish musical theater in America --a worthwhile project is
> >awaiting someone.
>
>Secunda really did this in his serialized biography in the Yiddish 
Forwards
>during the 1960's, but when his daughter in law, writer Victoria Secunda,
>reworked the articles to construct an English version biography, she left
>much of the knitty gritty details out.  But then, of course, Secunda wrote
>only about his music and only about the plays he composed for.
>
>However, the Hebrew Actors Union archive, an extraordinary treasure trove
>of primary source material, has all the actual original books, notes,
>scores, pads, scripts, notations, music, scraps,.... from all the Yiddish
>shows.  The president of the union, the great star and historian of the
>Yiddish theater, Seymour Rexite, is willing to donate the collection to a
>major library, but the catch is that he will do so only if are willing to
>personally pay him $100,000 so that he will sit with a scholar and explain
>the material and annotate it for you.  Anyone got a library which will pay
>$100,000 for this extraordinary collection?  I was recently at a dinner
>party with a theater department chairperson of a New York college who was
>working on getting the treasure trove, but it was a no go.
>
>
>

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