#Lipzin Theatre

[royatlyfree1923]

ANATHEMA

April 10, 1923

Anathema ~ is a fantasy in seven scenes written by Leonid Andreyev (translated by Herman Bernstein) and produced by Maurice Swartz. It opened at the 48th Street Theatre and ran 15 performances.  

The play takes place at the Gates of Heaven and in a Russian Village.

SYNOPSIS

On November 25, 1910 the play had its American premiere (in Yiddish) at the Lipzin Theatre, 225 Bowery. The Tribune was the only New York newspaper published in English to print a review of the play.

“At last Leonid Andreyev's ‘Anathema’ has been produced in this country at the Yiddish Art Theatre by Maurice Swartz. It waited thirteen years for its production in New York. Andreyev gave me the manuscript of ‘Anathema’ in 1909, before it was published in Russia and before it was produced by the Moscow Art Theatre.” ~ Herman Bernstein (translator) in The New York Times  

Paul Muni as David Leizer in the 1910 Yiddish production, a role taken by producer Maurice Swartz on Broadway.  

In speaking of Anathema translator Herman Bernstein said:

"Andreyev told me that while he was not a Jew himself he wanted to portray the Jew as he has never before been pictured. 'The Jew,' he said, 'has always been before the bar of justice--he has either been defended by his friends or attacked by his enemies. He has never been depicted as he really is. I want to portray the martyred Jew of all ages.” 

Bernstein asked Andreyev how he has caught the psychology of his Jewish characters not being a Jew himself. He replied, “I lived with them for three days at Odessa. If one sees a man's coat he can tell what he is inside. All it requires is imagination.”

AUTHOR

Leonid Andreyev (1871-1919) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who led the Expressionist movement in the national literature. He was active between the revolution of 1905 and the Communist revolution which finally overthrew the Czarist government. It was not, however, until Gorky discovered him by stories appearing in the Moscow Courier and elsewhere that Andreyev’s literary career really began.He was hailed as a new star in Russia, where his name soon became a byword. Although he started out in the Russian vein he soon startled his readers by his eccentricities, which grew even faster than his fame. 

CRITIQUE

“A wonderful play. Very interpretive of life.” ~ Theodore Dreiser in his diaries

“Like most Russian plays, ‘Anathema’ is a plunge into the basic mysteries and contradictions of life, but Andreyev (author of last season's Theatre Guild success, ‘He Who Gets Slapped’) works with symbolized, metaphysical ideas instead of with the raw material of actual life from which Chekhov and Gorky draw. Anathema is the Inquiring Spirit, the Searcher after Truth, who goes to the gates of Heaven to ask God what his weights and measures are for determining Justice.” ~ Time Magazine

CAST

Ernest Glendinning (1884-1936) as Anathema. Glendinning was the son of British-American actors John Glendinning and Clara Braithwaite. He made his stage debut in 1903 in a walk on part in the Annie Russell play, Mice and Men. His career was devoted primarily to the theatre where he played in vaudeville and on Broadway, with 40 plays to his credit between 1903 and 1935.  

VENUE

48th Street Theatre (157 West 48th Street; 970 seats) was built by producer William A. Brady in 1912. In the 1920s, Actors’ Equity leased the space for its Equity Players, producers of Roger Bloomer. Renamed the Windsor in 1937 and leased to Labor Stage (the culture wing of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union). It reverted back to its original name in 1943 to avoid confusion with a similarly named theatre in the Bronx. On August 24, 1955, a water tower collapsed and destroyed the theatre. The owners opted to sell the land rather than repair the damage.

The most successful play in the theatre’s history was Harvey (1944) by Mary Chase which ran for 1775 performances, won Chase the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and was adapted into a 1950 film. Another success at the theatre was Stalag 17 (1951), which was also made into a successful 1953 film.