The great comedian Menasha Skulnik was
interviewed by a New York Post reporter during the time
he was performing at the Second Avenue Theatre on the
Lower Side in the Yiddish play, "Leave it to Me!", or "Farlozt
zikh oyf mir!" in Yiddish. Menasha tells the reporter
his theory on comedy, which I think is interesting to
read (even if one is not a comedian.) So here we go:
Down on Second Av., there is a little man with hats too
small and jackets too big, who nightly supplies ample
proof that laughter has no language barrier. At present
he is cavorting in a Yiddish musical, “Leave it to Me,”
at the Second Av. Theatre, and his mere presence upon
the stage is enough to set off loud roars of laughter.
His name, should there be anyone who hasn’t guessed it
by this time, is Menasha Skulnik.
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At first glance both on and off the stage,
Skulnik’s serious face, his slight, short
body and his bewildered expression deny the
fact that he makes or wants to make people
laugh. His appearance suggests that he would
like nothing better than to go off under a
shady tree, and let the world carry on
without him.
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Instead, he must put up with completely
baffling situations in which he finds
himself embroiled and which are certainly
not hilarious to him, though people, whether
they understand Yiddish or not, may howl at
him and at them.
Mr. Skulnik has a partial explanation why the
non-Yiddish speaking contingent of his audience
understands him and in understanding him, laugh at him.
He has seen to it that about 40 per cent of the dialogue
in his Second Av. Musicals contains English words and
phrases.
“People who speak Yiddish,” said the comedian in an
accent that is neither Yiddish, nor his native Polish,
buy pure Skulnik, “insert idiomatic English phrases into
their speech, so why shouldn’t the Yiddish theatre do
the same?
“When my audiences began to include people who had no
knowledge of the Yiddish language, the managers of the
theatres in which I played wanted to include English
notes and synopses in the programs, but I didn’t want to
have this done. I want people to understand what I am
doing at the time I do something funny and not
beforehand or later as they would if program notes were
used.”
Skulnik feels, too, that all comedians have to be good
actors to be good comics. In mastering his acting craft,
a comedian gets to know the value of pantomime and how
to get the most out of the characterizations and
situations. He thinks that if a man knows his business
as an actor then he can be funny in any language. |
In an unknown role,
circa 1924
from the Museum of the
City of New York |
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From "The Baby Sitter"
cir 1948
From the Museum of the City
of New York
Listen
to the Skulnik song "Baby
Sitter."
(warning: crying baby starts song...) |
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