Raised as a Catholic schoolgirl in England, then as an actress I was in my first Broadway show at age 20, then a writer-director of plays & musicals in USA and UK, had a sojourn as artistic director of an originals-only Hollywood theatre, ten years as a first-night Broadway critic, a producer-adaptor of Shakespeare for Families (2 published books), a long-time theatre columnist, and now an in-demand lecturer on “The Impact of Yiddish Theatre on American Theatre.” For the past six months I have been invited to speak at Jewish Centers and luncheons as a Theater Historian and Lecturer on “The Impact of Yiddish Theatre on American Theatre.” At these events I am often asked why a Murphy, born in England and raised Catholic, can be so interested in Yiddish theatre and the Jewish culture. This play will be my answer to them and all others who are interested. My target audience will be older people from Jewish Communities, as already many more have been booking me to speak at their synagogues about the history of Yiddish Theatre. I am now a senior citizen and, after being in theater all my life, I’d always wondered why so many of the great American playwrights, composers and actors I admired were Jewish. When I started to research history to find the answer I learned that, although I never knew it, it was the impact of Yiddish theatre that colored and enhanced my life!
The Cultural and Literary traditions that parallel the cultures of Britain and Eastern Europe found a place to flourish in the Yiddish Theatre District on NY’s Lower East Side and affected the Theatre in America in a positive, gloriously inspiring, way.
For centuries the Jewish people were considered an alien ethnic group and persecuted even up to our present time. However, that never dampened their love of the arts, their belief in goodness and their ability to celebrate the joy of life.
Learn More at theatrespokenhere.blogspot.com/
