Research Project: Jewish Assimilation
How Jews Became Americans: Exploring the Contributions of Jews to the Development of Musical Theater and the Depiction of Assimilation on the Stage
by Beth Atkins
Summary.
This research paper considers the contributions of Jewish performers, composers, and writers to the formation of the Broadway musical. It begins with a brief discussion of Yiddish theater and its influence on Broadway, specifically the classical works of playwrights like Ibsen, Tolstoy, and Shaw as well as Jacob Adler’s Broadway performance as a Yiddish Shylock in an English performance of The Merchant of Venice. Next, it considers three works by Jewish authors who deal with the issue of assimilation: Samson Raphaelson’s The Jazz Singer, Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun, and Rodgers’ and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!.
The Jazz Singer began as a play in 1925 and two years later became the first sound film. Both the play and the film depict the road to assimilation of the cantor’s son, Jakie Rabinowitz, who, on his opening night on Broadway, is forced to choose between his theatrical family and his dying father’s wish that he sing the Yom Kippur service at synagogue. This section includes a discussion of Jewish performer’s practice of performing in blackface and how that aids them in assimilation by separating them from racial minorities.
The Jewish duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein perhaps could relate to the plight of Okies during the Great Depression and created a story that celebrated the ability of the farmer and cowman to join, a necessity for Oklahoma to join the Union. Additionally, it depicts the story of the assimilation of the Jewish peddler Ali Hakim into the community and the eviction of the ethnic minority Jud Fry from the same community. Again, we see the ability of the ethnic minority to assimilate when contrasted with a racial minority.
The final section addresses Annie Get Your Gun, a musical that shows the evolution of Annie from backwoods sharpshooter to show business star. Parallels are drawn between Annie’s rise to fame through show business and the American Dream realized by many Jewish immigrants who pursued careers in acting.
Sources.
The author’s sources include primary materials such as versions of the scripts and secondary sources including history, commentary, and criticism.