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Aaron Nager
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Born in November 188 in
Vilna, Polish Lithuania. He learned in a cheder, and a
city school and privately with a teacher. At the age of
sixteen he immigrated with a grandmother to America.
Here he became a stand-in in the Union Theatre, and
shortly thereafter founded a dramatic club, for which he
composted a sketch "Father and Son", which later was
performed in the first Yiddish vaudeville theatre
of Yonah Spivak. Then he founded a vaudeville theatre in
Pacific Garden, and after acting there for a year,
traveled to London, where he began to act in Yiddish
theatre. Launched by the competition from Zygmunt
Feinman, he founded a Yiddish vaudeville theatre there,
then he settled in Paris, where he opened "Nager's
Comedy Theatre", for which he wrote vaudeville by
himself.
Being in London, he wrote
under the pseudonym "Nit keyn yold" theatre critiques in
a humoristic journal "Der blofer", and published in
print in special editions many composed couplets.
From London N. traveled to
Argentina, where he acted in the local Yiddish theatre,
then he returned to Europe and acted in Yiddish theatre
in France, England, Holland and Germany, later
immigrating to Russia, acting in the area of Poland
until Siberia and returned to America, where he went on
to write songs for records and plays for the Yiddish
theatre.
N. had, besides many
sketches, also written the plays: |
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"Nikolay der tsvayter
(Nicholas II)", (staged by Jacob Spivakovski in
Paris)
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"Iz a froy a mentsh?",
performed in London's Perigen Theatre by Joseph
Kessler and Dina Feinman)
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"Der lustiker foygl (The
Lovely Bird)" (performed by Joseph Sherman in
London, and then in Warsaw, Galicia and Romania.
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On 11 September 1923 in
Brooklyn's Hopkinson Theatre, there was staged,
under the direction of Isidor Hollander, "Hulye
kaptsn, a comedy in three acts by Steinberg and
Nager". On 18 April 1927 it was staged in the same
theatre under the name "A khazendl oyf shabbes"
(music by Yidl Belzer), and later it became popular
in Europe through Nellie Casman, under the name "Dos
khazendl".
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On 3 September 1926,
under the direction of Jacob Kalich, there was
staged in New York's Kessler's Second Avenue
Theatre, with Molly Picon in the title role, "Der
kleyner mazek (The Litttle Devil)", libretto by
Aaron Nager, music by Joseph Rumshinsky, lyrics --
A. Lillian and Molly Picon.
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On 15 April 1927 in the
Public Theatre, there was staged, under the
direction of Aaron Lebedeff, with him in the title
role, N.'s operetta, "Der kleyner milyoner" (music
by Sholom Secunda).
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On 4 January 1929 in the
Hopkinson Theatre, there was staged his melodrama "A
khasene in prizon (A Wedding in Prison", which in
December 1930 was staged by the "European
Cooperative Troupe" in the McKinley Square Theatre,
under the name "Mames, hit eyere kinder!, by Ben-Pinkhes".
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On 7 January 1929 in the
Rolland Theatre, there was staged by Jacob Rechtzeit
N.'s musical comedy "Abe's Baby" (music and lyrics
-- Jacob Rechtzeit), which was earlier staged by
Julius Nathanson in Boston.
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In May 1929 by William
Schwartz, there was staged in the Excelsior Theatre
in Buenos Aires, N.'s "Der eybiker nar".
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On 28 October 1932 in
Brooklyn's Amphion Theatre, there was staged by L.
Kremer N.'s melodrama "Ven es felt a mame (When a
Mother Feels)".
Outside of this, there was
also staged by Bernard Elving in Newark, N.'s melodrama
"Der goldener khasen".
N. also (together with
Hershel Glick) wrote the melodrama "Der gan-eden (The
Garden of Eden)".
Sh. E.
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B. Y. Goldstein -- In di
brukliner idishe teaters, "Tog", N. Y., 14 September 1923.
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N. Buchwald -- Bowery un sekond
avenyu, "Frayhayt", N. Y., 10 September 1926.
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Ab. Cahan -- Der nayer sizan in
idishin teater, "Forward", N. Y., 14 September 1926.
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A. Frumkin -- "Der kleyner mzik"
in sekond avenyu teater, "Tog", N. Y., 15 September 1926.
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A. M. Mandelbaum -- "Der kleyner
milyoner", "Frayhayt", N. Y., 6 May 1927.
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Y. B. [Botoshansky] -- "Der
eybiker nar" fun f. nager, oysgefirt in teater "ekselsior" fun
v. shvarts, "Prese", Buenos Aires, 2 June 1929.
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Sh. R. [Rozhansky] -- "Der kluger
nar" fun a. nagler oyfgefirt fun viliam shvarts, "Di idishe
tsaytung", Buenos Aires, 2 June 1929.
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Spectator [N. Frank] -- "A
khasune in prizon", melodrame in 3 akten geshpilt fun tsile
liptsin un heri tsheykovski in royal variete, "Parizer haynt",
10 July 1930.
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M. Ginzburg -- "A khasuna in
prizon", "Keneder odler", Montreal, 21 November 1930.
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Jacob Kirschenbaum -- "Mames hit
eyere kinder" -- in mekinly sqver teater, "Morning Journal", N.
Y., 12 December 1930.
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