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David Kessler (actor)
Encyclopedia
David Kessler was a prominent actor in the first great era of Yiddish theater. As a star Yiddish dramatic performer in New York City
, he was the first leading man in Yiddish theater to dispense with incidental music
.
Born and raised in Chişinău
(then part of Imperial Russia, now the capital of independent Moldova
), as an adolescent he improvised chaotic amateur plays in the stable of his father's inn, using fragments of what he had seen in the performances of Broder singer
s. A medical student named Geller apparently wrote him a more structured play, Mechtze the Matchmaker, which he and his friends put on.
At 16, he tried out for Israel Rosenberg
's theater troupe when they passed through town for a month. He was offered a position as an extra
, but his father forbid him to go on the road. Three years later he joined a different small travelling troupe, and spent three years travelling through Europe with that troupe, first in Russia and then in Romania
. In 1886, he came to the United States
.
In one of the first Yiddish-language productions of Shakespeare, he played the title role in Othello
, opposite Jacob Adler
's Lego. He was responsible for bringing Bertha Kalich
to America.
In 1918 he starred in Mish Mash with Nellie Casman
at Edelstein's People's Theater.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, he was the first leading man in Yiddish theater to dispense with incidental music
Incidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, film or some other form not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as the "film score" or "soundtrack"....
.
Born and raised in Chişinău
Chisinau
Chișinău is the capital and largest municipality of Moldova. It is also its main industrial and commercial centre and is located in the middle of the country, on the river Bîc...
(then part of Imperial Russia, now the capital of independent Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
), as an adolescent he improvised chaotic amateur plays in the stable of his father's inn, using fragments of what he had seen in the performances of Broder singer
Broder singer
The Brodersänger or Broder singers, from Brody in Ukraine, were Jewish itinerant performers in Austrian Galicia, Romania, and Russia, professional or semiprofessional songwriters and performers, who from at least the early 19th century sang and danced, often in comic disguises, and who performed...
s. A medical student named Geller apparently wrote him a more structured play, Mechtze the Matchmaker, which he and his friends put on.
At 16, he tried out for Israel Rosenberg
Israel Rosenberg
Israel Rosenberg founded the first Yiddish theater troupe in Imperial Russia....
's theater troupe when they passed through town for a month. He was offered a position as an extra
Extra (actor)
A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera or ballet production, who appears in a nonspeaking, nonsinging or nondancing capacity, usually in the background...
, but his father forbid him to go on the road. Three years later he joined a different small travelling troupe, and spent three years travelling through Europe with that troupe, first in Russia and then in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. In 1886, he came to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
In one of the first Yiddish-language productions of Shakespeare, he played the title role in Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
, opposite Jacob Adler
Jacob Pavlovich Adler
Jacob Pavlovich Adler , born Yankev P. Adler, was a Jewish actor and star of Yiddish theater, first in Odessa, and later in London and New York City....
's Lego. He was responsible for bringing Bertha Kalich
Bertha Kalich
Bertha Kalich, was a Jewish actress, born in Lemberg, Galicia...
to America.
In 1918 he starred in Mish Mash with Nellie Casman
Nellie Casman
Nellie Casman was an actress and singer in Yiddish theater. Some sources say she was born in Proskurov, Russia, and moved to the United States in the early 1900s; Zylbercweig says she was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Her father was a hazzen...
at Edelstein's People's Theater.