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DAY AND NIGHT1,
Sholom Ansky
(Yiddish: Tog un nakht)
Here
is the cast from the Unser Theatre production of
Ansky's "Day and Night," when it opened at the
Yiddish Art Theatre in New York City, on
December 9, 1924:
Avigdor (Victor) Pecker, Jacob Bleifer, Jacob
Bergreen, Wolf Ayzenberg, Joseph Greenberg, I.
Lowstein, Isaac Rotblum, Miriam Elias, Esther
Mendel, Chaim Schneyer, Asher Polonovsky and
Goldie Russler.
So, here is the
synopsis of Ansky's "Day and Night." The
name of the actor or actress who portrayed a particular
role is indicated in parentheses:
SYNOPSIS
ACT 1:
The Rabbi (Chaim
Schneyer) has done nothing to stop the
children's epidemic raging in the town. In
answer to Mendel (Jacob Bergreen), the
matchbroker's queries, Hananiah (Avigdor Pecker)
describes the Rabbi as a silent recluse,
different from his father who died a martyr's
death in a massacre. The beadle (Wolf Ayzenberg)
comes to fetch the Rabbi to a wedding ceremony
to be held in the cemetery as a means of
checking the plague. Hananiah replies that the
Rabbi will not come. A stranger (Joseph
Greenberg) enters, contrary to Hananiah's
orders, to implore the Rabbi's aid for his sick
child. He is allowed to touch the Rabbi's door
and mutely commune with him. The wedding party
arrives from the cemetery, Hananiah goes into
the Rabbi's room, but immediately returns,
telling the party to proceed with the ceremonial
dance. After the dance the party leaves.
Deborah (Miriam
Elias), the Rabbi's old mother, comes in and
promises to consult her son about the match for
Miriam (Esther Mandel). Hananiah and the others
leave. Miriam, her grandchild, enters,
terror-stricken at the plague. When told of the
proposed match, she protests wildly and runs
off. Rabbi Don, attracted by sounds of Miriam's
weeping, enters. Deborah tells of Miriam's
refusal and begs him to stay with her. She is
kept alive by his prayers, but would rather die.
He suspects a secret and demands to know it. She
denies any secret and leaves, frightened by his
angry face. Miriam enters. In the ensuing
conversation they reveal a subconscious love and
suppressed desire for each other.
Hananiah brings
the news that the Prince of Darkness with his
suite celebrates nightly orgies in the ruins of
an old mill and is surely the cause of the
plague. The Rabbi bids him go there that night
to see for himself.
ACT 2:
The ruins of the
old mill--Devils tell of their achievements and
are sure that Satan will be pleased. He enters
and asks for reports. One reports of the carnage
he has staged among animals. Another of the fear
and hatred he has spread among men. Only the
third messenger, sent to vanquish the Rabbi, is
missing. Satan (Sidney Stavrov) and Lilith (Lisa
Varon) grow impatient. Finally he appears,
victorious in having stirred the blood of a
Cossack in the Rabbi, aroused his sinful desire
for his niece. The orgy starts, Rabbi Don
appears and joins in it. Miriam follows. He
embraces her. A cock crows; all disappear.
ACT 3:
Hananiah
tells the Rabbi his experience. The Rabbi is
shocked at his own part in the orgy. He calls
Miriam and asks her about her dreams. She does
not remember, but thinks she saw him. the Rabbi
s sure that Hananiah has sold himself to the
Devil. Deborah, entering upon this conversation,
collapses. She becomes delirious and discloses
the secret of her life. In the massacre in which
her husband was murdered, she was raped, and the
Rabbi is the son of the Cossack. This revelation
kills the Rabbi. |
