Sara Adler
Encyclopedia
Sara Adler was a Russian Jewish actress in Yiddish theater who made her career mainly in the United States
. She was the wife of Jacob Adler
and the mother of prominent actors Luther
and Stella Adler
, lesser-known actors Jay
, Julia Adler, Frances, and Florence. [Adler, 1999, passim] The most famous of her 300 or so leading roles was the redeemed prostitute Katusha Maslova in Jacob Gordin's play based on Tolstoy
's Resurrection
.
, Russian Empire
(currently in Ukraine
), she grew up speaking Russian
, and only learned Yiddish after through her participation in Yiddish theater. In Russia, she married Maurice Heine, leader of a Yiddish theater troupe; with him, as Sara Heine, she left in 1884 for New York City
, after the 1883 ban on Yiddish theater in Imperial Russia. Jacob Adler records that when she first performed at his London
theater, around 1886, "she spoke no Yiddish… but came out before the curtain and sang Russian songs." [Adler, 1999, 266]
In 1890 she divorced Heine, and in 1891 she married Adler, himself recently divorced from a brief second marriage to Dinah Shtettin
. She and Adler would be among the most prominent actors in Yiddish theater in New York City
for the next three decades. After her husband's 1920 stroke and 1926 death, she performed only infrequently.
Although probably most remembered for her lead roles opposite her husband, Sara Adler also, for a time, set out on her own with the Novelty Theater in Brooklyn
where she, like her husband, presented, in Yiddish, works of Ibsen
and Shaw
well before they were familiar to an English-language audience. She also presented works of the French
feminist
Eugène Brieux
. After Randolph Schildkraut quarrelled with Max Reinhardt
in Vienna
, Sara Adler brought him to Brooklyn to play the husband in Jacob Gordin's stage adaptation of Leo Tolstoy
's The Kreutzer Sonata
. That production also included Jacob Ben-Ami (associated with the Vilna Troupe
, as well as Adler offspring Stella
and Luther Adler
. [Adler, 1999, 361 (commentary)]
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. She was the wife of 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....
and the mother of prominent actors Luther
Luther Adler
Luther Adler was an American actor best known for his work in theatre, but who also worked in film and television. He also directed plays on Broadway.-Life and career:...
and Stella Adler
Stella Adler
Stella Adler was an American actress and an acclaimed acting teacher, who founded the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City and the The Stella Adler Academy of Acting in Los Angeles with long-time protege Joanne Linville, who continues to teach and furthers Adler's legacy...
, lesser-known actors Jay
Jay Adler
Jay Adler was an American actor in theater, television, and film.Born in New York City, New York, he was the eldest child of Yiddish theater stars Jacob and Sara Adler, and the brother of the more famous Luther and Stella.Jay Adler died at age 81 in Woodland Hills, California and was buried in the...
, Julia Adler, Frances, and Florence. [Adler, 1999, passim] The most famous of her 300 or so leading roles was the redeemed prostitute Katusha Maslova in Jacob Gordin's play based on Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
's Resurrection
Resurrection (novel)
Resurrection , first published in 1899, was the last novel written by Leo Tolstoy. The book is the last of his major long fiction works published in his lifetime . Tolstoy intended the novel as an exposition of injustice of man-made laws and the hypocrisy of institutionalized church...
.
Biography
Born in OdessaOdessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
, Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
(currently in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
), she grew up speaking Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, and only learned Yiddish after through her participation in Yiddish theater. In Russia, she married Maurice Heine, leader of a Yiddish theater troupe; with him, as Sara Heine, she left in 1884 for New York City
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...
, after the 1883 ban on Yiddish theater in Imperial Russia. Jacob Adler records that when she first performed at his London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
theater, around 1886, "she spoke no Yiddish… but came out before the curtain and sang Russian songs." [Adler, 1999, 266]
In 1890 she divorced Heine, and in 1891 she married Adler, himself recently divorced from a brief second marriage to Dinah Shtettin
Dinah Shtettin
Dinah Shtettin was a prominent English-born Yiddish theater actress. She was the second wife of Jacob Adler, with whom she had a daughter, Celia; they divorced, and she married Siegmund Feinman...
. She and Adler would be among the most prominent actors in Yiddish theater in New York City
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...
for the next three decades. After her husband's 1920 stroke and 1926 death, she performed only infrequently.
Although probably most remembered for her lead roles opposite her husband, Sara Adler also, for a time, set out on her own with the Novelty Theater in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
where she, like her husband, presented, in Yiddish, works of Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
and Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
well before they were familiar to an English-language audience. She also presented works of the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
Eugène Brieux
Eugène Brieux
Eugène Brieux , French dramatist, was born in Paris of poor parents.A one-act play, Bernard Palissy, written in collaboration with M...
. After Randolph Schildkraut quarrelled with Max Reinhardt
Max Reinhardt (theatre director)
----Max Reinhardt was an Austrian theater and film director and actor.-Biography:...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Sara Adler brought him to Brooklyn to play the husband in Jacob Gordin's stage adaptation of Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
's The Kreutzer Sonata
The Kreutzer Sonata
The Kreutzer Sonata is a novella by Leo Tolstoy, published in 1889 and promptly censored by the Russian authorities. The work is an argument for the ideal of sexual abstinence and an in-depth first-person description of jealous rage...
. That production also included Jacob Ben-Ami (associated with the Vilna Troupe
Vilna Troupe
The Vilna Troupe , also known as Fareyn Fun Yiddishe Dramatishe Artistn and later Dramă şi Comedie was an international and mostly Yiddish-speaking theatrical company, one of the most famous in the history of Yiddish theater...
, as well as Adler offspring Stella
Stella Adler
Stella Adler was an American actress and an acclaimed acting teacher, who founded the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City and the The Stella Adler Academy of Acting in Los Angeles with long-time protege Joanne Linville, who continues to teach and furthers Adler's legacy...
and Luther Adler
Luther Adler
Luther Adler was an American actor best known for his work in theatre, but who also worked in film and television. He also directed plays on Broadway.-Life and career:...
. [Adler, 1999, 361 (commentary)]
External links
- Judith Laikin Elkin, Sara Adler, Jewish Women Encyclopedia