CHAINS2,
by H. Leivick
(Yiddish: Keytn)
“Chains"
is a drama in three acts, by H.
Leivick, which opened at the Yiddish
Art Theatre, Broadway at
Twenty-Eighth Street, NY, on 21
February 1930.
According to author Martin Boris in
his unpublished biography of Maurice
Schwartz1:
"With Leivick's 'Chains' in
February, the Art Theatre redeemed
itself, if not to the paying
customers, then with the critics:
It is one of the few Yiddish plays
of the season in which the
English-speaking world can take
pleasure," enthused the Times critic
(23 Feb.1930). The story is centered
in a Siberian prison circa 1905. Leivick knew the subject first hand,
having spent many years there as a
guest of the Czar...."
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photo:
H. Leivick , 1940 (Ale verk fun H.
Leivik. New York: H. Leivik
Yubiley-Komitet. 1940) .
From
Wikipedia.
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"In
this tremendous, powerful, profoundly beautiful
play we are shown the effect which the
unspeakable barbarity of Russian prison life in
the days of the Czars has upon a group of
revolutionary idealists who share the same cell
in a Siberian penitentiary. Men of the highest
humanitarian ideals, martyrs to a common cause,
who even in jail try to live up to their
Socialistic principles, inhuman suffering
aggravated by enforced living together within
the narrow confines of a prison cell, subtly
corrupts their nature and plays havoc with their
Socialism. For, alas! the chains these idealists
wear are not merely the iron fetters on their
feet, but the limitations of human nature, the
imperfections of our common humanity, the
incorrigibility of the old. Adam that is in all
of us. Closely interwoven with this theme is
another, namely, whether the public good may be
promoted at the expense of the individual, -- a
question which our author also touched upon in
his earlier play, 'Shop.' Still another theme is
the ironic one of the underdog turned top-do, --
of the erstwhile rebel and champion of freedom
who comes into power and forthwith proceeds to
treat dissenters with the same ruthlessness that
he himself was treated by the despotic regime he
has overthrown. All these themes are
harmoniously blended together into one beautiful
whole, a symphony in black relieved by profound
pity and resignation H. Leivick, the author of
this play, writes of Russian prison life from
first-hand knowledge. A native of Russia, he was
arrested In 1906 for participation in the
Socialist and revolutionary movement and, after
being kept two years In jail, he was finally
brought to trial and sentenced to four years'
imprisonment at the Butirsky Penitentiary In
Moscow. Upon the expiration of his sentence, he
was exiled to Siberia for life. After a year of
exile in the Siberian province of Irkutsk, he
made his escape (1913) and came to the United
States, where he has lived ever since,
supporting himself, at least in his early years
in this country by manual labor. Today he is
universally ranked among the greatest Yiddish
poets and playwrights. His best known works are
'The Golem.' which the Habima Players produced
in this country three seasons ago, and
"Rags"-perhaps the finest play ever written
around the life of the immigrant to America
--which the Yiddish Art Theatre produced with
great success about eight years ago."2
The participating cast of the Yiddish Art
Theatre in this production were:
Maurice Schwartz,
Lazar Freed, Morris Strassberg, Jacob Mestel,
Boris Weiner, Pincus (Philip) Sherman, Mark
Schweid, Michael Gibson, Joseph Greenberg,
Gershon Rubin, Izidore Casher, Hyman Wolfkoff,
Louis Weinberg, Ben Zion Katz, Samuel Lehrer,
Rubin Frank, E. Kogor, N. Metalik and H. Zohn.
Workmen, Guards,
Soldiers, etc.: the students of the Dramatic
Studio of the Yiddish Art Theatre: Sirota,
Petchanick, Fruchter, Kogar, Lieber, Abramsky,
Beltchinsky, Turkin, Lieberman, Brenner, Meizel,
Stone, Barash, Zohn.
Note: The play
deals with the life of political prisoners in
Czarist Russia. The action takes place toward
the end of 1905 in a cell at a penitentiary in
Arctic Siberia.
So, here is the
synopsis of Leivick's "Chains" (The
name of the actor who portrayed the particular
role is in parentheses):
SYNOPSIS
ACT ONE
The play takes us
back to the stormy days of the abortive Russian
Revolution of 1905. and its terrible aftermath
of counter-revolution. Eleven prisoners, most of
them life-termers, are sharing the same cell at
a penitentiary in Arctic Siberia, where they are
treated with the utmost cruelty by the warden
and the keepers. Of the eleven, eight --Levine
(Maurice Schwartz), Joseph (Lazar Freed), Peretz
(Morris Strassberg), Gregory (Jacob Mestel),
Peter (Boris Weiner), Solomon (Pincus Sherman),
Nuki (Mark Schweid), and Singer (Michael Gibson)
--are political prisoners, and three -- Grandpa
(Gershon Rubin), Zazuli (Izidore Casher), and
Koverznikov (Hyman Wolkoff) --are common
criminals. The sole bunk in the cell has room
only for eighth persons, and so three sleep on
the ground under the bunk. The political
prisoners, being Socialists, share all their
worldly goods --food, tobacco, money, gifts from
the folks back at home -- in common, partaking
of them in such portions as Peretz, the manager
of their communal ménage, sees fit to
distribute. Their spiritual leader. by virtue of
superior age and personality, is Levine. a man
of extraordinary courage, driving force, and
determination, who is busy digging a tunnel by
which he and his comrades might escape from
prison. The suffering of these heroic martyrs is
known outside the prison walls, and
revolutionary Russia looks upon them as its
saints.
But all is not
well with these revolutionary saints. Peter, for
example. Unable to stand any longer the agony of
Siberian prison life, he has petitioned the Czar
for a pardon. For this he is branded as a
traitor and ostracized by all his comrades save
Nuki and Joseph. The half-dead and half-erased
Nuki, who rarely emerges from his dark lair
under the bunk, has acquired a certain
clairvoyance and sense of pity from his own
suffering which enable him to understand and
sympathize with human frailty and misery. And
Joseph, the pessimistic philosopher or the
group, see in Peter's action only one more
symptom of the moral degeneration of all of them
during the two years of their captivity.
Levine announces a
change in the plan for their jail delivery.
Since it would take months to tunnel their way
beyond the prison walls. he intends to extend
the tunnel only to a certain little-frequented
spot in the prison yard, from which only a few
shovelfuls of earth separate them now, and
whence they can make their escape that very
night over the wall by means of rope ladders.
His reason for hastening their escape is that he
has learned the miners employed in the
neighboring gold mines are about to strike, and
so he would like to take the leadership of the
strike and convert it into the first step of the
social revolution in Russia. Joseph stamps this
as a mad adventure and idle dream, but Levine,
is adamant and descends into the tunnel.
While Levine is
gone, Solomon enters with packages containing
victuals, cigarettes and a box of chocolate
candy that his father. who has just come to pay
him a visit, has brought him from home. He duly
turns all these things over to Peretz, who soon
discovers that several pieces of candy are
missing. Presently Singer detects Solomon
munching the missing candy under cover of his
blanket. All are scandalized at such behavior
and Solomon is publicly disgraced.
At this point a
guard brings in another prisoner, the young
revolutionist Daniel (Joseph Greenberg), a
former pupil of Levine's. With the revolutionary
ardor of youth, he refuses to accept a place on
the bunk (the place previously occupied by the
ostracized Peter) as long as others are forced
to sleep on the ground. And sharing the
universal reverence in which these revolutionary
martyrs are held, he cannot understand their
strained relations to one another. Presently
Levine returns, but even his presence cannot
dispel the prevailing gloom.
Druzhinin (Louis
Weisberg), the warden, and a number of armed
guards (Samuel Lehrer, Rubin Frank) arrive for a
general inspection. All stand at attention
except Gregory, who is too sick to rise. When
Druzhinin insists that Gregory rise, Levine
explains that his comrade is down with fever.
For this presumption, Druzhinin orders Levine to
be taken to the dungeon and to be flogged.
Daniel offers to take Levine's place. At this
point Levine prevails upon Gregorv to make a
supreme effort and rise. But Druzhinin insists
on having a victim, and Daniel is led away to be
tortured. When the warden and the guards depart,
Levine and his comrades make their escape,
leaving behind Gregory, who is too sick to be
taken along; Nuki, who does not even want to
escape, and the three criminals who dare not
join in the flight.
ACT TWO
As Joseph
anticipated, the jail delivery proves a failure.
All are caught and cruelly punished and returned
to the cell, being deprived of all their former
privileges. In retaliation, all the political
prisoners, including even Gregory declare a
hunger strike, in which they are joined by the
three criminals. When Grandpa falls on his knees
and implores the warden to yield to the demand
of the hunger strikers, Druzhinin orders him to
be flogged.
Levine pleads with
Gregory to pardon him for having abandoned him
during the attempted escape, but refuses Peter's
plead to be forgiven. Peter repeats his plea to
each of the others, only to be repulsed by all
save Nuki. When he approaches Singer, who was
the first to ostracize him, he discovers him
secretly munching a piece of bread. In his
bitterness he wishes to avenge himself on Singer
by telling the others of his backsliding, but
the look of despair in Singer's eye causes him
to refrain.
Daniel, half dead
from his terrible ordeal in the dungeon, is
brought in by a guard and at once joins in the
hunger strike. He is horrified when Levine
proceeds to disillusion him about the supposed
holiness of himself and his comrades. His horror
increases when Levine outlines his revolutionary
creed, which is that the world has enough of
goodness and charity, that what it needs most is
change, and that in effecting this change we
must halt at nothing, not even at the sacrifice
of our nearest and dearest ones. Levine soon
belies his own words when he runs to save Peter
who has attempted to commit suicide.
Druzhinin,
accompanied by guards. returns and forces the
common criminals to eat in his presence. He then
orders Zazuli to dance for him the "Dance of the
Chains." Levine forbids Zazuli to dance; but
before Druzhinin has a chance to punish Levine,
he receives word that the striking miners, fully
armed, are marching upon the penitentiary.
Thereupon he and the guards leave hurriedly to
defend the penitentiary.
The revolutionary
miners capture the penitentiary, though
Druzhinin manages to escape. They make Levine
their leader, and at his command all the
prisoners are set free. In the general
excitement. Nuki is almost overlooked. As he is
being led out of the cell, he stumbles over the
body of one of the slain guards. At the sight of
human blood, he cries out that he will have none
of freedom purchased at such a price, but he is
carried out against his will.
ACT THREE
It does not take
long for Zazuli and Koverinikov to come back to
the selfsame cell, having been caught plying
their old trade, burglary. The evident
embarrassment of the revolutionary workers who
are detailed to guard them does not escape the
notice of the two criminals, who take full
advantage of it. But worse embarrassment is in
store for these workers and for Singer and
Peretz who have been put in charge of the
penitentiary, for by order of the revolutionary
council, Joseph, Daniel, and Gregory are to be
arrested also. The three are accused of
defeatism, of opposing Levine's attempt to start
the social revolution in the wastes of Arctic
Siberia two thousand miles away from a railroad
station, and with only two thousand miners to
face the superior forces of the Czar sent
against them. When Daniel, the first of the
three to be arrested is left alone in the cell
with Levine, he accuses the latter of being
intoxicated with power, to which Levine counters
by charging him with being drunk with meekness.
Druzhinin, at the
head of a large army, defeats the revolutionary
miners. All the prisoners are rounded up and
returned to their cells. Druzhinin hits upon a
diabolical plan to wreak his vengeance on the
rebellious prisoner: he gives them two minutes
in which to form in line, at the end of which
period he will return and cause the sixth man
from the left to be executed; should they fail
to fall in line within the given time, he will
have them all executed. He and the guards
withdraw from the cell, whereupon Levine asserts
his former leadership and authority and arranges
the line so that he is the sixth man from the
left. When Levine is led away to be executed and
the rest are ordered to go to bed, Daniel weeps,
but Nuki comforts him. "Don't cry, Daniel," he
says. "Death is a smile. Death is brightness. I
knew it would end thus."
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