In late 1925, cartoonists and book illustrators Zuni Maud and Yosl Cutler—a wild and wonderful artistic duo—fell upon the idea of creating a Yiddish puppet theatre. An immediate hit on the Lower East Side, their hilarious puppet plays were performed to sold-out crowds all over the United States, Europe, and the Soviet Union. Fusing Jewish tradition with high art and left-wing politics, Maud and Cutler created a unique Yiddish experience.
Kadimah was joined by Join Eddy Portnoy from New York on Sunday September 19 for an online lecture and Q&A, featuring photos, illustrations and a short film, detailing the compelling history of this unusual Yiddish puppet theatre.
Eddy Portnoy is the Academic Advisor and Director of Exhibitions at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. He is the author of Bad Rabbi and other Strange but True Stories from the Yiddish Press (Stanford University Press 2017).