At the end of the 19th and early 20th century, the Yiddish theatre of Second Avenue displayed the talents of Jewish composers and lyricists, singers, actors and dancers. These productions were a central fixture of the Lower East-side culture, providing the primary form of entertainment for the New York Jewish community. By the 1960s, Jewish life had come to be popularized in mainstream Broadway theatre...
During the period between 1920 and the late 1950s, Broadway musicals did not publicize Jewish themes but rather buried them within the context of typically non- Jewish mainstream story lines. Audience members had to be adept in absorbing the subtle Jewish content via the characters, certain nuances in dialogue, and cleverly crafted lyrics of well-placed songs within the shows. The place of Jewish content in musical theatre reflected the Jewish American experience in general. Due to the anti- Semitic climate in the United States throughout the decades between 1920 and 1960, Jews faced numerous hardships, both personally and professionally. Early in their careers, many prolific Jewish composers and lyricists such as George and Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, and Alan Jay Lerner, often chose to write in a non-Jewish context for the sake of being employable during an era when being Jewish was frowned upon.
Despite the success of some of the Jewish performers who crossed over into mainstream Broadway roles, this time period rejected the display of blatant Jewish themes. Jewish Broadway authority Andrea Most observes, “The Broadway stage was a space on which Jews envisioned an ideal America and subtly wrote themselves into that scenario as accepted members of mainstream American community.” (Most, We Know, iv) However, the reality at the time was that the Jewish performer who made it onto the Broadway stage did so largely as the comic relief, the loser, the one constantly being poked and prodded at, and the scapegoat. Despite the distinction between Yiddish Theatre of Second Avenue and the mainstream Broadway musicals of Forty- Second Street, there was undoubtedly a Jewish influence on the conventional Broadway musical reflected in its characters, story-lines, music and lyrics, based largely on the fact that many Jews had a hand at writing the material.
In his book examining the musicals of the 1920s, noted Broadway historian Ethan Mordden states: “The 1920s represented a turning point in the history of the Broadway musical, breaking with the vaudeville traditions of the early twentieth century to anticipate the more complex, sophisticated musicals of today. Productions became more elaborate, with dazzling sets, tumultuous choreography, and staging tricks, all woven into tightly constructed story lines.” (Mordden, Make Believe cover)
The Ziegfeld Follies, in particular, were an enormous part of theatre culture in the 1920s. The Follies launched the careers of many performers, particularly Jewish, of the day. Despite not being Jewish himself, Florenz Ziegfeld was known for employing Jewish performers like Nora Bayes, Sophie Tucker, Fanny Brice, Eddie Cantor, Al Shean, Ed Wynn, Belle Baker and Jack Pearl. Thus, Ziegfeld was instrumental in bringing both Jewish performers and Jewish themes into mainstream theatre culture.
According to Mordden, “It was the performers, in fact, who kept reminding the public who they really were, sitting across the footlights in [Fanny] Brice’s patently Yiddish diction and true-to-life characters like Rose of Washington Square (who ‘Got no future, but oy! What a past!’) or Second Hand Rose (‘from Second Avenue’).”
Towards the later part of the 1920s, the Broadway show began to turn away from revue-style to that of having a “book” or literally, a story, where there is development of both a plot and characters. Andrea Most observes: "The musicals of the 1920s and 30s, many of them written and performed by Jews from immigrant backgrounds, likewise suggest a vehement opposition to rigid radical categorizations, advocating instead a more fluid conception of identity. Emerging from immigrant families and desperate to become Americans, Jewish performers in particular understood the crucial importance of being able to adopt whatever personae they chose." (Most, Big Chief 1)
...the idea of a niggun, a melody without words, basically sung on a syllable—an important Jewish music practice still in existence today. With the blending of Jewish and African- American influences in the song, “Gabriel,” one could go further and propose that this might be an instance of “Jewish scat-singing.” Book-writer and lyricists Morrie Ryskind and Howard Dietz were both Jewish. Furthermore, this is a prime example of the connection between the African-American and Jewish cultures and their musical traditions being popularized during this time by many composers, including Harold Arlen, the son of a cantor.
The combination of Jewish and African-American cultures in the instance of the show Merry-Go-Round highlights the fact that real-life content was now being portrayed in the stereotypical make-believe world found in the Broadway musical. In her dissertation on Jewish composers and lyricists in American theatre, Jill Yvonne Gold Wright cites this relationship: “There is a long-time alliance between the music of the Jews and that of the African-Americans.” (Wright 114) Consequently, Jewish composers and lyricists were no strangers to depicting black culture in musicals, and in particular for writing for white actors in blackface.
Gabriel also appears in the prominent musical, Anything Goes in 1934, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter, who “was acutely aware of being a Gentile in a world that seemed to be dominated by Jews.” (Wright, 17) In a conversation with his friend and colleague, Richard Rodgers, Porter told Rodgers that he had found the secret to writing successful theater music. “’What is it?’ asked Rodgers. ‘Simplicity itself,’ said Porter. ‘I’ll write Jewish tunes’” (Qtd. in Steyn 76-77) The productions of the 1920s officially began the kick-off to the Broadway theatre phenomenon and some of its production elements are as relevant as ever today. Beginning with Al Jolson’s monumental performance in The Jazz Singer, the shows of this era illustrated the important connection between Jewish and African-American culture, and brought this relationship to the forefront. The popular Jewish stars of the day crossed over seamlessly from Second Avenue to the mainstream Broadway productions and helped bring Jewish life to the American stage.
Source
Bletstein, Deborah. “Jewish Themes in Mainstream Broadway Musicals: 1920-1960.”H.L. Miller Cantorial School.