Muranover Theatre
from Volume 6, pp. 5115-7
published in 1969
 

The Muranover Theatre in Warsaw lies within the 'Muranover Park'. In the past it was known as "Narodni Dom (House of the Nation)." The Muranover Park is managed by the Warsaw mayor's police chief.

In 1905 Dr. Rozenthal, the first husband of the writer Pauline Prilutski, and her father H' Edelstein rented the place for a year and there they created a theatre. It immediately came to be used as a Yiddish theatre by a troupe under the direction of Sam Adler and Nadya Neroslavska. This was a first-rate troupe, without rival. Its music was tasteful and met the demands of the audience, but it did not hold together for very long. Subsequently, there was a second troupe, under the direction of Avraham Fishzohn and it too could not maintain itself for very long and relocated itself to a second Yiddish theatre, the Jardin d'Hiver.

The theatre remained empty and the police chief himself began to take an interest in the future of the building. It was fortunate that due to the lack of success, that he should look up the Yiddish theatre director and actor A. G. Kompaneyets whom he had met in Vilna when he was the chief of police in that town. Dr. Rozental and Edelstein were bound for Shavel, where Kompaneyets had agreed to perform. They signed a contract with him. In 1906 Kompaneyets arrived in Warsaw and opened the theatre with an entire ensemble including: Leah Kompaneyets, Klara Gottlieb, Zina Teks (later--Rappel), Sofia Schwartz, A. G. Kompaneyets, Rudolf Zaslavsky, Brandesco, George Evin, Misha German, Boris Rosenthal and L. Rappel. This was the premiere of Shomer's "The Coquettish Ladies"; Goldfaden's "Shmendrik" and "Ni-be-ni-me[ni-cucurigu]" ["Not Me, Not You, Not Cock-a-Doodle-Doo'"], and later-- Schorr's "A mentsch zol men zein"; Skrib's "Zydowka"; Gabel's "Tate, mame's tsuris", and Tomashevsky's "Pintele yid".

At every performance the director Kompaneyets used to raise the curtain and have a talk with the audience about the significance of theatre. The audience received the talks with great ovations, and in this same way had quickly gained the sympathy of the theatre audience.

At the end of 1906 the contract concluded with 'Narodni Dom', and the police chief had turned over the Muranover Theatre to Kompaneyets, who had implemented an internal and external reorganization of the theatre.

He had hired two dramatic directors-- Mark Arnshteyn, and for the operetta -- Mark Meyerson. The original troupe was enlarged by adding the actors: Leonid Sokolov, Leyzer Zhelazo, H. Weissman, Yermolina-Weissman, Brown, Gchik, Weisblatt, the late Michal Michalesko, Adolf Berman, Gustav Shwartzbard et al. The repertoire was completely overhauled and changed. For several years the work of the theatre advanced normally. The popularity of its growth, day-to-day and the financial outlook was outstanding.

At the beginning of each year, when [sihot zikh] the Kompaneyets contracts ended with 'Narodni Dom', and [mihot im gedarft baneyen (renew?), iz di kantselarye] of the police chief [bavorfn (plied; pelted with) gevorn] with [hundertel forshlagn(suggested/proposed)] for  [fun kapisalistn and fachleit], which [hobn gevolt nemen in arende di gebeide fun 'Muranover Theatre']; [ober nisht gekumt oyf di hechere freizn, vos zei hobn fargeleigt, iz der bnin alts geblibn bei] Kompaneyets.

Through the time [zenen oyf di breter] fun 'Muranover' theatre also engaged other troupes, such as the 'Hirshbein Troupe', the 'Fareynikte (United) Troupe', from the choir that had sung in the 'Muranover' theatre, were later strong became known as players: Zina Goldstein, Anna Foderman, Bleiman, Yakov Lerman and the late well-known Yiddisher actor Samuel Goldenburg. The leaders of the theatre were: Yitzhak Shlosberg, Mordechai Hochberg, Kumak and Peretz Sandler.

In 1912 Kompaneyets began to receive often [meldungen] from the ministry, that the place of the theatre [iz umnadingt noytik farn tzitadel], and people [farlangt deriber in di 'Hoyche Fentster', za er zol bafreyen] the place. It had begun [bazveizn ofte komisies with chsdrdike bamerkungen], that the theatre is not [tsugepunst tsu di neytike sanitare badingungen(service)]. [Di Ofte tenus and the chlumrshte preetenzies hobn vos veiter ongenumen alts sharfere farmen] and thus in 1912 the theatre closed. [Kurts Nachdes iz es ingantsn opgeroymt gevorn].

• [--] -- History of Yiddish Theatre in Warsaw, "Theatre-Tseitung", Warsaw, 1, 2, 1928.