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THE WATER CARRIER1,
by Jacob Prager
(Yiddish: Der vaser-treger)
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"The
Water Carrier" is a folk-comedy,
with music, in two acts by Jacob
Prager.
The
play opened on 24 December 1936 by
the Yiddish Art Theatre at the 49th
Street Theatre (W. of Broadway).
Abraham Weinstein, Lessee. Boris
Bernardi, House Manager. Directed by
Maurice Schwartz, musical score by
Alexander Olshanetsky, settings and
costumes by Robert Van Rosen and
dances by Lillian Shapero.
Executive Staff:
Martin Schwartz, Leon Hoffman, Managers. Nat Dorfman, English Press Agent. Gertrude Wagner,
Treasurer. Technical Staff: Ben Katz, Stage
Manager. Abe Mitnick, Carpenter. Joe Burdin,
Electrician. Edward Kirtland, Properties. Wigs
by Zauder Bros. Piano by Kramer. Costumes by
Meth & Gropper. |
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photo:
Maurice Schwartz and
Anna Teitelbaum in "The Water
Carrier."
Courtesy of the
Museum of the City of New York. |
The cast of this
production included:
Maurice Schwartz,
Alex Tenenholtz, Anna Appel, Berta Gerstin,
Michel Rosenberg, Anna Teitelbaum, Anatole
Winogradoff, Morris Silberkasten, Max
Friedlander, Samuel Lehrer, Wolf Goldfaden, Zvi
Scooler, Bronia Newman, Sonia Radina, Ben
Basenko, Nadia Niroslavsky, Philo Biro, Solomon
Krause, Harvey Kier, Louis Hyman, Albert Golub,
Israel Sanik and Robert Harris.
So, here is the
synopsis of Prager's "The Water Carrier". The
name of the actor or actress who portrayed a particular
role is indicated in parentheses:
SYNOPSIS
ACT ONE
Years and years
ago in a small town in Poland, lived a
water-carrier named Simche Plachte (Maurice
Schwartz). He had
neither mother nor father. He bragged that he
was born from a rock, big and strong, and that
he immediately became a water-carrier. He supplied
the entire town with drinking water for which he
received a bit of bread, the leavings from the
kitchen or some old clothes.
Yossele Parnos
(Alex Tenenholtz), the
chief Sexton to the Rabbi, and proprietor of the
town hotel, exploited Simche more than anyone
else in town. Day and night he carried water for
the wealthy Parnos but he could not fill the
water barrel to the top, because under this
barrel, the crafty Sexton had built seven more
barrels.
The water-carrier
is in love with Yossele's servant girl Tsipe
(Berta Gerstin).
She loves him also but she does not want to
marry him because he is poor. The small,
emaciated orphan Baile (Anna Teitelbaum) is sorry for him and
feeds him more than the other servants in town;
because Sirmche is grateful to her, he marries
her.
Simche is very
naive and superstitious. His wife Baile tells him
that she dreamed that her deceased Mother and
Father told her that he is destined to become a
great Rabbi, and that in her attic is a caftan
and "chtryrnel" (a fur cap) ready for
him for thousands of years. The fanatic Jews of the
town who believe in the miraculous wonders of
the Holy "Tsaddiks" laugh and make fun of this Bogus Rabbi until the "Poretz" (lord of the
town) (Morris Silberkasten) threatens the Jews that he will take all
their possessions unless his lost horse is
returned to him. The Water-Carrier, in an innocent
manner, tells the "Poretz" to run to the woods
and there he will find his horse. The "Poretz"
does as Sirnche tells him and there finds the
horse. For this miracle he recognizes in Simche
a great Rabbi.
Reb' Yossele
Parnos and a petty Lithuanian merchant (Michael
Rosenberg) see an
opportunity to make money by proclaiming him a
miracle man and becoming his Sextons.
The town accepts
the new "Rabbi". Tsipe, the servant
girl, is besides herself with regret because she did
not marry the "Water-Carrier". His wife, Baile
the orphan, becomes the "Rebitzen" (the
Rabbi's Wife) and now gets even with the
town's elite who mistreated her when she was
their servant.
With merriment and
song the Jews of the town acclaim Simche the
greatest "Tsaddik" and Miracle man.
ACT TWO
Money pours in on
all sides. Poor Jews, women and children from
towns and villages come here knocking at the
"Rabbi's" door clamoring for his help. Yossele and the
Lithuanian make them pay well. Sirnche sits in
his private study and eats delicacies and longs for Tsipe.
He hates Baile, his wife. His thoughts are only of Tsipe. He begs his
sextons to allow him to bring her a couple of
pails of water, but they do not allow it, because
they know that if they let her in to see Simche,
it would be the end of their "Golden Calf".
Tsipe tries to see the Rabbi, but she is not
permitted in. Simche dreams and longs and sighs
for Tsipe, but the Sextons stuff him with
delicious food all day long to take his mind off
her.
He causes Yossele and the Lithuanian, so much trouble that
they are ready to grant him a divorce from his
wife, Baile, so that he may marry Tsipe but
Baile rules with an iron hand and she laughs at
the Sextons.
When the Jews
crowd into the "Rabbi's" study for his
blessings, Tsipe sneaks in with them. When
Simche sees her he is overjoyed and protects her
from the wrath of the Sextons, who try to put
her out. Simche is ready to leave everything and
run away with his beloved Tsipe, so the Sextons
conclude that it was so fated in Heaven that
Tsipe and the "Rabbi" be mated.
The "Poretz"
brings a golden chair in which to carry the
"Rabbi" to his palace so that he may chase the
ghosts from there. As they lift the "Rabbi" to
the chair, he cries out in pain that they let
him down and runs back to his private room.
Yossele convinces the Jews that the "Rabbi"
received a message from Heaven to teach the
Torah to the Angels. Baile, the "Rabbi's" wife
for fear of losing her husband, discloses the
truth. She says that it is not true that Simche
is a Rabbi, but that he is an imposter. The crowd
is horrified and so is Simche because he never
took advantage of or fooled anyone in his life;
all he did was carry water to the homes of the
Jews without charge. He discards his Rabbinical
attire and puts on his own water-carrier's
clothes again and walks away, a beaten,
broken-hearted, and disillusioned man.
The Sextons, in
order to save their skins, convince the Jews
that Tsipe has become the "Rebbitzen" until the
"Rabbi" returns from Heaven where he went to
teach the Torah. The fanatic Jews believe them
until Tsipe exposes the truth, that all the
money given for the "Rabbi" was taken by the
Sextons, and that they deceived not only the town
but also Simche the Water-Carrier.
The "Poretz" and
the Jews grab the Sextons and place them on the
tables where they whip them for their sins.
Simcha comes
back as Water-Carrier and promises all the Jews
that he will bring them water for the rest of
his life to pay for the delicious food that was
given him these last few weeks when he was
"Rabbi".
The "Poretz"
refuses to acknowledge any other Rabbi but
Simche and orders the Jews to carry the
Water-Carrier through the town with pomp and
ceremony. He presents him with Yossele's house
and orders him to marry Tsipe. The Sextons
are forced to carry the golden chair through
the streets of the town in which the Water-Carrier
sits in state. The Jews sing and dance because
they see in Simche the kind heart of an honest
man. They rejoice with the happy pair -- Simche
the Water-Carrier and Tsipe the servant girl.
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