Let Us Tell You A Story How Jewish people built the American theater as we know it.

[elleng]

'HOW ARE THINGS in Glocca Morra?” is a song from the 1947 musical “Finian’s Rainbow,” which is about, among other things, a leprechaun. Glocca Morra doesn’t exist, and if it did, it wouldn’t be in, say, Poland. The song is sung by a homesick Irish lass in the American South; like the show overall, it is the most goyish thing that ever happened on Broadway, unless that would be “Brigadoon,” which opened the same year, with its highland heather and men in kilts. That one’s about a town that awakens only once every hundred years, also not in Poland.

Or is it? Like the score for “Brigadoon,” by Lerner and Loewe, the score for “Finian’s Rainbow” was written by two Jews: E.Y. Harburg (né Isidore Hochberg; the “Y” stood for “Yipsel”) and Burton Lane (né Burton Levy). The show was produced, stage managed and for the most part designed by Jews. The musical director, dance arranger and press reps were Jews. In a city then home to more than two million Jews — even now, the most Jewish city in the world, by sheer numbers — so were a lot of the ticket buyers. (Twenty years later, the playwright and screenwriter William Goldman estimated that Jews made up half the Broadway audience.) Did they hear something familiar in the tune of “Glocca Morra,” even as the lyrics, saluting “Killybegs, Kilkerry and Kildare,” denied it?

Of course, many gentiles also appreciated the yearning-for-a-simpler-time song, which reached deep into American culture in those postwar years. Along with several other tunes from the show — “Old Devil Moon,” “Look to the Rainbow,” “If This Isn’t Love” — “Glocca Morra” was a popular hit, covered by Sammy Davis Jr., Julie Andrews, Connie Francis, Rosemary Clooney, the Tommy Dorsey band and, over time, some hundred others. Davis, a convert, was the most Jewish among them.'>>>

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/11/29/t-magazine/jewish-theater-antisemitism-maestro.html?

[Irish_Dem]

1. Ellen have you seen Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy.

Last edited Thu Dec 7, 2023, 07:31 PM - Edit history (1)

I think you can watch it on Amazon.
I believe there are a couple of documentaries on the same topic.

I love Broadway musicals and had no idea about the Jewish influence on Broadway.

I love these documentaries because they are so illuminating and fascinating.
To see the Jewish theatrical genius in action. Really astounding.

I got into an intense discussion about this topic with a family member (married in)
who was raised orthodox Jewish. He argues the Jewish roots of oppression are the
the sole reason for their theatrical success.

I said no way it is the only reason.
Yes, it is a factor, it provided the heart and soul of the American theatre.

But look at Jewish religious services. (I attended Jewish services for years every Friday night
and holidays to support my family, even though I was raised Irish Catholic.)

I said a Jewish religious service is a work of art from start to finish.
The very touching music, the amazingly beautiful prayers, the Rabbi's heartfelt and moving sermons.
The davening, the wearing of special hats and garments.
And the high holidays, the shofar horn, the special music and performances.
One father and daughter sang a song each year, a duet, I don't know the name.
It was transporting. Tears came to my eyes.

Jewish children are raised in these dramatic traditions from a very young age.
It is second nature to them. And led them to theatrical genius.
A history of oppression was the heart and soul of their theatrical work, but the synagogue
taught them how to tell the story in a way the public loved.

[jls4561]

2. Let us not forget that Yip Harburg was also the lyricist for "The Wizard of Oz".

Among other things.

[elleng]

3. YES, MANY other things!

PBS has done a documentary on the subject, and I SO enjoy it!