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In 1905, after completing
with a roaring success the summer season in the "Bagetela"
Theatre in Warsaw, Dr. Rozenzal and the dramatist and
regisseur Mark Arnstein urged the cabaret on Chmielne 9
[to become] a Yiddish theatre, and here it opened during
the winter season with the same troupe that performed in
the "Bagatela" (Esther Rukhl Kamnska, Miriam Trilling,
Yermolina-Vaysman, Barska-Fisher, Sonia Edelman, Regina
Kaminska, Sonia Libert, Khiena Braginska, Krause-Miler,
Sonia Schlossberg, Vera Zaslavska, Avraham Yitzhak
Kaminski, Avraham Fishzon, Misha Fishzon, Yakov Libert,
Nathan Dranov, H. Vaysman, Herman Fisher, Brandeska,
Solomon Krause, M. Kh. Titelman, Lazer Rapel, Herman
Berman, Shapiro, Lazer Zhelazo, Doktorov, Gustav
Shvartsbard, Yitzhak Zandberg, Adolf Berman, et al). The
repertoire originated from the plays of Sholem Aleichem,
I. L. Peretz, Jacob Gordin, Mark Arnstein and
translations of Gorky and Pshibishevsky.
The troupe was brought under
the system of "markes". The director was Avraham Yitzhak
Kaminski, actor-leader, H. Eplberg, orchestra conductor
-- Yitzhak (Isaac) Schlossberg, and technical head -- Herman
Fisher. In a year's time, the troupe had performed
without a break, and the material success was excellent,
but then the "harmony" became disrupted: there
began intrigues and behind-the-scenes gossip, which
triggered old quarrels and conflicts, which also
affected the internal organization of the theatre. In
the meantime a Polish operetta troupe had hired out the
theatre, and the troupe then was forced to leave: the
dramatic section traveled to Lodz and Avraham Fishzon
with his family, and even some actors left for Russia.
In 1907 the actor Julius
Adler returned from America with a new repertoire
(Gordin, Libin, Zolotarevsky et al.). The Lodz troupe
returned to Warsaw, and at Passover 1907, with the him
the theatre returned to a Yiddish theatre. Returning
were new [actors]: Julius and Amelia Adler, Sh.(Shmuel)
Landau, A. (Avraham) Samberg and Kayzerovitsh. The
season opened with Zolomol in Warsaw, and was
enthusiastically received by the theatre public, so that
the play was performed consecutively for several months.
Morevski's "Yeshiva bukher", which was staged initially,
then there was staged "Di getsvungene khasene", "Gebrokhene
hertser", "Zelik itsik der klezmer", "Shma Yisrael", et
al. A great success was also Gordin's "Di shkhite (The
Slaughter)", which was then staged for the first time in
Warsaw.
After performing barely for
two years, the theatre was liquidated in 1909 due to the
fact that German and Italian businessmen bought back the
theatre building, [in order to turn it into] a large
cabaret. The Yiddish troupe, however, did not dissolve,
but in full went together over to the "Elizeum" Theatre,
which was run by the Maklieyd company (a beer
brewery) through Avraham Yitzhak Kaminski, Lazer Rapel,
H. Eplberg and H. Vaysman.
In 1928 in the same location
as the theatre, there opened the large "Palace" movie
house.
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