by Eugene Paul

 

One upon a time a long time ago in 1923 there were fourteen Yiddish musicals on Second Avenue all playing simultaneously to packed houses.  And among them, in the 2000 seat Second Avenue Theater was Di Goldene Kaleh which many of you would recognize as The Golden Bride because you can still speak a little Yiddish or you’re really clever.  And The Golden Bride was an American fairy tale about a beautiful princess, a Jewish princess naturally, who sent her many suitors on a perilous quest: to find her long lost mother, in order to win the hand of the princess in happy wedlock.  Which just goes to show you how much of a fairy tale that is: to find your mother-in-law?  Happy wedlock?

 

Rachel Zatcoff and ensemble.                   Photo: Justin Scholar.

 

And even more of a fairy tale, it has the beauteous young Kaleh starting out barefoot in a shtetl – well, we all know what a doggone shtetl is, think Fiddler on the Roof  for heaven’s sake – in deepest Russia, who inherits a huge fortune, naturally in America, Di Goldeneh Landt, (another Yiddish musical hit, by the way, which, if you’re lucky enough and still believe in fairy tales that is, will be wending its way soon to the theatre of your choice, gorgeous Safra Hall in the Museum of Jewish Heritage.) (Soon.Soon.)

 

Now, then, like all good Yiddish musicals, good in the profitable sense, The Golden Bride had everything, gorgeous ingénue, check, stalwart leading man, cneck, lots of settings, check, and costumes, check, dancers of all types, check, a masked ball – a masked ball? Yesss. Check, a plot, check, another plot, check check, low comics, check, terrific voices, check, and above all, a hit song right out of the gate that gets reprised so everybody remembers it at the end of the show and sings along, check.  That was all, of course, back when there was extraordinary Joseph Rumshinsky writing the score. So where do you think all the musical mavens of the great American musicals got their inspirations and learned their lessons?  Until technological today?  Go ahead, you clever ones, run the great names, run their great songs in your heads, your sweet nodding heads. Aah, yes, oh, yes, oh yes indeed.

 

 

Glenn Seven Allen and Rachel Zatcoff. Photo: Justin Schola

 

And think: voices, real voices, yes, aided and abetted today by those ubiquitous microphones but when was the last time you heard a coloratura ingénue? In a duet? Two duets? Lovely Rachel Policar has been singing Goldele in opera productions all across America, next stop, Alaska, in

October.  This labor of love. Which is crowd funded! And talking about crowds and labors of love, all expertly, lovingly delivered, there are two directors, Brynne Wasserman and Motl Didner as directors, plus a musical director and conductor Salman Mlotek, plus a choreographer and musical stager Merete Muenter, and a cast of twenty –one including beautiful Regina Gibson as Sheyndl, golden voiced Cameron Johnson as Misha, Goldele’s preferred suitor among the several stalwarts. And an orchestra of seventeen.

 

Rachel Zatcoff and ensemble. Photo: Justin Scholar.

 

Today, it’s a beautiful reminder that American immigration laws were once more welcoming, a sadly touching reminder that fairy tales used to come true, or maybe that’s wishful thinking. Clearly, these sturdy, well fashioned operettas served a greater purpose than simple entertainment. To millions of striving immigrants in their new land, this once new land, they were affirmation of the American Dream.  Perhaps we need them again.

 

Oh, and by the way, in case your Yiddish needs a little perking up, come earlyish.  Every performance gets an amusing brush up before hand  in the language.  Don’t expect another brush up for the titles, though: they’re in Russian and English. And you just plain have to help yourself when it comes to the Hebrew that crops up occasionally. Enjoy.

                                                         

The Golden Bride. At the Museum of Jewish Heritage, Edmond Safra Plaza, 31 Battery Place. Tickets: $50, $40, $30. 212-213-2120. 2 hrs 15 min. Thru Aug 28.