Jews on Broadway: An Historical Survey of Performers, Playwrights, Composers, Lyricists and Producers by Stewart F. Lane

Jewish and African American workers. Even doctors had a hard time finding work. Few Jewish physicians were hired in any hospitals other than the 40 Jewish hospitals in the country. By 1938, an American Jewish Congress report noted that anti–Jewish restrictions in want ads had reached their highest level in history.4
    The theater world, however, was still largely populated by Jews, and the Shuberts had a firm hand on what was taking place on Broadway. In fact, many theater historians claim that if it weren’t for the Shuberts, Broadway would never have made it through the depression years. Depart -
    ing from their usual hard-line business approach, during the early depression years, the Shubert Brothers helped bail out small producers and did what they could to keep their own employees working as long as possible.
    After a couple of years with their own business in receivership, the Shuberts were able to buy back the organization under the name Select Theaters and come back strong, thanks to the Ziegfeld Follies pro ductions.
    The Jewish people knew about persecution, and this new generation was not about to let the theater suffer because of it. A generation earlier, actors and playwrights had fled Eastern Europe to enjoy the freedom of the United States. This generation was determined to withstand any adversity they might face. The children of the immigrants had largely assimilated into the American mainstream, and while they would still embrace their Jewish culture, they were far more secular than their ancestors. For many, theater remained a safer haven than more traditional industries, one in which skills and talent largely overshadowed religious affiliation and one in which the Jews had already gained a foothold through the many Jewish theater owners. While attendance fell off during the depression years, theater remained a place to escape and enjoy entertainment, much as it was during the heyday of Yiddish theater. No matter how bad things got, theater always had its place in Jewish culture.
    A LIGHT IN DARK TIMES
    Throughout the 1930s, the Jewish composers wrote up-tempo music in a very somber time. The lyricists, meanwhile, wrote about love, about 49
    Jews on Broadway
    life and about country in patriotic songs. If nothing else, they used their musical talents to compose songs of hope and dreams, and in some cases significant shows about minority acceptance such as Show Boat and Porg y and Bess . Often poignant messages about social acceptance showed up in both the storyline and the music itself, but guised in another frame-work, and not about Jewish acceptance, especially during the 1930s.
    None theless, these composers and lyricists wrote timeless melodies and intimate lyrics for musicals that grew richer in storylines and away from the revues and follies of the 1920s.
    While the number of shows opening on Broadway each year during the 1930s dropped, there as still quite a disproportionate number of musicals featuring Jewish composers and/or lyricists. One explanation for the many Jewish composers was that traditional Jewish religious music was typically led by a single singer, a cantor, while Christian music was usually sung by a chorus. In fact, many of the composers were the sons, or grand sons, of cantors, some emanating from several generations of cantors, and most had pianos in their homes. “Jewish homes had pianos and the children learned how to play. That was standard, no matter what the economic situation,” says Ellen Adler, of life in the 1930s.5
    Many of the composers and lyricists of this era honed their skills in what was known as Tin Pan Alley, from which sheet music and later recordings originated and were hawked by shrewd salesmen. It all took place in the area of Manhattan around West 28th Street, a neighborhood that music publishers called home from the late 19th century up through the 1930s. It was there that the Jewish musical legends of Broadway worked and collaborated, including Irving