AMHERST, Mass. – A weekend program on “The World of Yiddish Theater” will be offered at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Massachusetts, April 21-23.

In recent years, there has been renewed interest in Yiddish theater, with new productions of works such as the operetta The Golden Bride and Sholem Asch’s God of Vengeance, as well as the Broadway debut this spring of Indecent, which looks at the scandal created by Asch’s controversial 1923 play. The Yiddish Book Center program will examine the origins and development of Yiddish theater and dramatic literature, from early works and Purim plays to the “Father of Yiddish Theater,” Avrom Goldfaden; from Yiddish theater’s arrival in America to its modernist turn in Europe between the two World Wars. It will include a look at the most memorable plays and greatest stars of Yiddish theater, and consider its legacy today. The program will be taught by Debra Caplan, assistant professor of theater at Baruch College, CUNY and a founding member of the Digital Yiddish Theater Project.

The weekend will feature four lectures, a workshop on Yiddish theater songs, a film, shared dinners, and a chance to explore the Yiddish Book Center, the world’s first Yiddish museum.

Registration deadline: April 7. For more information or to register, visit yiddishbookcenter.org/yiddish-theater-weekend-program. For more information visit yiddishbookcenter.org/educational-programs.