Thomashevsky

[Lori M Simon <lorelecs...>]

Friends,

I thought I'd share this story with you.  An older friend of mine, Mabel
Snyder (nee Fenster), grew up in the Yiddish Theater in Cleveland and
from time to time tells me stories.  Today she shared this gem with me. 
Boris Thomashevsky was in town doing Grine Felder and little Mabel was
sitting in the prompter's box, where she liked to watch from. 
Thomashevsky played a coal miner and in the opening scene he walked down
into his basement apartment, covered in coal dust, face black, and
prepared for himself a glezele tey (glass of tea).  Since the glass would
have been hot, he took a towel and wrapped it around the glass...and
wrapped it around the glass, and wrapped it around the glass.  He was
making such a big deal about the wrapping.  Now Mabel's father had warned
her.that Thomashevsky was an alcoholic, like Barrymore, and when he was
drunk he was magnificent onstage, sometimes improvising great things,
improved in artistry, so everyone watched quietly to see what he would
do.  When nothing was forthcoming but the towel shtik, the house started
whispering and tittering because he had been sitting for such a long time
doiing the pantomime with the towel.  Quietly, to the prompter he said,
"Momzer, gib mir a vort!"  The first two rows and the orchestra pit heard
and were hysterical, but the rest of the house had no idea what was going
on.  They just thought here was the great Thomashevsky, hamming it up
with a shtick, but really it was the drunk Thomashevsky who had forgotten
his line and said, "Bastard, give me a word!"  Dosn't translate as well,
but there ya go.

Lorele

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