Off-Broadway Wears Hirshbein's The Amulet, April 13-May 6
By: BWW News Desk Mar. 17, 2006
New Worlds Theatre Project will begin previews of Peretz Hirshbein's The Amulet, April 13th at the 78th St. Theatre Lab, 236 West 78th St. The play will run through May 6th.
"Adapted for the first time from the original Yiddish, this 100-year old play takes place in a world of seers and miracle-workers, where people are expected to suffer in silence. They wear amulets to protect them, waiting passively for the promise of future happiness. The Amulet is the story of a girl who refuses to wait. The play's unusual style combines elements of Greek Tragedy, Russian Avant Garde, and the Old Testament, state press notes for the show, which will be directed by Isaac Butler.Peretz Hirshbein (1880 -1948), the son of a Russian miller, was the founder of the Art movement in Yiddish Theatre, which lifted the genre beyond the realm of mere entertainment. His work was immortalized by Edgar Ulmer, director of The Black Cat and Detour, in the film he made of Hirshbein's play Green Fields. The film was named Best Foreign Film of 1938 (France).Videos