OFF PAGE: The Messiahs of 1933 with Joel Schechter July 15, 2008

Joel Schechter rediscovers the funny and often politically-charged plays of 1930s American Yiddish theatre in his book Messiahs of 1933, celebrating their satire, radical imagination and commitment to social change. He broadens our understanding by examining the innovative stage performances of the Artef collective, the Modicut puppeteers, and the Yiddish Unit of the Federal Theatre Project as well as popular 1930s actors such as Leo Fuchs, Menasha Skulnik and Yetta Zwerling.

One of the most interesting, lively and informative books that I have ever had the pleasure to read on subjects of Jewish-American culture and its connections with American popular culture.
Paul Buhle, Brown University

Professor of Theatre Arts at San Francisco State University, Joel Schechter has written a number of books about satirists and circus clowns, and created a series of comic strips with the illustrator Spain.

Co-Presented by the San Francisco State Department of Theatre Arts and the Bureau of Jewish Education Community Library

Event submitted by Eventful.com on behalf of JCCEB.