Sholem Aleichem: Not Dead Yet

‘Sholem Aleichem’ (‘peace be with you’) was the pen name of beloved Yiddish short story writer, novelist, poet and playwright Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich.  This show, on the centenary of his death, is a tribute to him and his work, the latter certainly ‘not dead yet’ – as Arnold Zable’s narration tells us.  Perhaps Aleichem is best known today, however, for the adaptation of his stories Tevye the Dairyman as the musical Fiddler On The Roof.  When he died in New York, his cortege attracted crowds of maybe 100,000.  In his time, he was known as ‘the Yiddish Mark Twain’ because of his humour, the realism of his dialogue and his characters – which he said were taken straight from life.  When Mark Twain heard about this, he said, ‘Please tell him that I am the American Sholem Aleichem.’

The show features vignettes from Aleichem’s work, including some of his most memorable characters – Menakhem-Mendl, his wife Sheyne-Sheydl and Mr and Mrs Cherkis – and songs both sad and challenging.  It’s performed in Yiddish (mostly, with English surtitles) and English by an amateur but enthusiastic cast: Leon Garfinkel (who plays Sholem Aleichem himself), Alex Dafner, Elisa Gray, Michelle Gray, Freydi Mrocki, Helen Mizrachi, Henry Nusbaum, Doodie Ringelblum and 10-year-old Hillel Ringelbaum, who also plays the violin.  The last two are father and son and in the show play… father and son.  The co-director, with Galit Klas, is New York actor and director, Shane Black, who’s not Jewish but loves the Yiddish language and specialises in Yiddish theatre.  He’s come to Melbourne to direct and appear in the show, playing both Tevye der Milkhiker and Menakhem-Mendl.

Melbourne is one of the few (one of the last?) places in the world staging plays by Yiddish speakers for Yiddish speakers.  The audience enjoyed the show as much for its nostalgia for a bygone world as for its still recognisable characters and humour.

Michael Brindley