Introduction

This volume includes works by six Yiddish playwrights: Sholem Aleichem, Sholem Asch, I.D. Berkowitz, Peretz Hirshbein, H. Leivick and David Pinski. These plays were published in the first half of the 20th century, the majority between 1904 and 1923.

Preliminary drafts of six of the plays were published by iUniverse in 2007 in a volume entitled Selected Yiddish Plays: Vol.1. This updated volume includes final drafts and/or full text of plays in the 2007 publication, as well as four additional plays.

With the exception of Hirshbein's A Dream about Time, all plays in this volume were produced in New York City between 2005 and 2015 by New Worlds Theatre Project (Producing Artistic Director, Ellen Perecman).

The volume represents an effort to foster an appreciation for the literary legacy of Yiddish culture and the extent to which Yiddish literature, and Yiddish plays in particular, have enriched the international cultural and literary landscape.