Jacob Adler: A Life on the Stage

Rating:
Summary: A compelling and highly recommended social history
Review: Translated with commentary by Lulla Rosenfeld, and enhanced with an informative introduction by Stella Adler, A Life On The Stage: A Memoir is esteemed Yiddish actor Jacob Adler (1855-1926) self-written autobiography. Acclaimed during his own lifetime as one of the great actors of his day, a time now more than seven decades gone. This candid and engaging memoir was originally composed and published in Yiddish and provides the reader with a kind of "window in time" to discover what life was like in the Yiddish theater and on Broadway. From his years with a troupe of Yiddish folk singers and theatrical productions in Odessa, to his journey to America and performances at the Union Theater on Lower Broadway, we are treated to a memoir that is as much a tribute to the development of the Yiddish theater in Russia, England, and America, as it is a compelling and highly recommended social history as lived through by a most remarkable and memorable man.