Jews on Broadway: An Historical Survey of Performers, Playwrights, Composers, Lyricists and Producers by Stewart F. Lane Read Free Book Online Page B

of American culture. Jews, as well as other minorities, were accepted, largely through their own derogatory caricatures, as part of what was widely received as the comedy of the era. Although the patriarchs of Yiddish theater snubbed their noses at such humor, the younger generation of Jewish performers saw it as “good clean fun.” The young up-and-coming vaudevillians argued that the best performer to play a Jew was a Jew, and self-mocking was part of their assimilation process.
    In some ways it was not unlike hazing at a fraternity. This was a right of passage, a way of “Americanizing.”
    Of course the question has often been asked regarding whether the effects of such depictions encouraged anti–Semitism or not. While religion was not a factor on stage, some will argue that such depictions rein-forced the negative image of the Jewish people. Of course, the contrary argument is that the familiarity with actual Jewish people through their presence in vaudeville, albeit using stereotypical characters, actually less-ened the fear that spurred such hatred by showing that the Jewish people were able to fit in, laugh at themselves and entertain, like everyone else.
    While this is not a focal point in this book, it is worth mentioning that there is little, if any, evidence that anti–Semitism increased because of vaudeville. It is also worth noting that several Jewish performers, including Eddie Cantor, Al Jolson and Fanny Brice, emerged as some of the 32
    2. Part of the Melting Pot
    most renowned, best loved stars of their time, admired by non–Jews as well as Jews.
    It should also be mentioned that many Jewish vaudevillians, as well as other performers of the era, donned blackface. While far from politically correct today, this was customary at the time. The most notable blackfaced performer was Al Jolson, who rose to enormous stage and film notoriety while behind the dark makeup.
    Jewish Vaudevillians
    The routines of the Jewish performers left an indelible mark on vaude ville, and later on many of these performers would go on to great success on the Broadway stage.
    For Fania Borach, better known as Fanny Brice, vaudeville was one of several stops on the way to a successful career that would include radio, film and Broadway. Like most of the Jewish entertainers of that time, she was born on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, the daughter of Euro pean immigrants. Although her family moved to Newark, New Jersey, when she was young, she grew up determined to return to New York City, on stage. With that as her goal, she entered talent contests, winning some while also impressing one of Broadway’s most distinguished gen-tlemen, Irish-born composer, lyricist, director and performer, George M. Cohan, for whom she auditioned at the age of 16. Cohan put her in the chorus of the show Talk of New York . Inexperienced, however, she was fired before the show opened.
    Undaunted, and still determined, Brice, still known as Fanny Borach, went into burlesque, touring with The Transatlantic Burlesquers (1907–
    1908) as a chorus girl. Considered a notch below vaudeville, by “respect -
    able” audiences, burlesque had grown with its own circuit, featuring a bevy of chorus girls and similar, yet racier, performers to those typically found on the vaudeville stages. It was on this circuit, however, in a show called The Girls from Happyland that Brice would make the transition from “back row” chorus girl to lead performer. Relegated to only singing, and often from off-stage, Fanny, who changed her name to Brice because it was less ethnic sounding (which would prove ironic in her later comedy career) knew she had to learn to dance to get her feet firmly planted back 33
    Jews on Broadway
    on the main stage. With that in mind, she would take her mother’s lacy garments, go backstage at the burlesque theaters and spend some of the money she had earned to bribe the chorus line dancers to teach her the steps. Eventually, she became an