nestor/moshe

Lives in the Yiddish Theatre
SHORT BIOGRAPHIES OF THOSE INVOLVED IN THE Yiddish THEATRE
aS DESCRIBED IN zALMEN zYLBERCWEIG'S "lEKSIKON FUN YIDISHN TEATER"
1931-1969

Moshe Nestor
(Nasatir)

Born on 5 January 1885 in Aneshishok, Kovno Gubernia, Lithuania. Father -- a lumber merchant, a Chasid. Until the age of fifteen, he learned with R' Yom-Tov in Dvinsk, and then a slaughterer, as a home shokhet.

1917 -- arrived in America¹, and because of this he was able to read Yiddish well, became a prompter in Yiddish theatre in New York, where there were also staged the plays: "Dos fraye rusland" (25 May 1917, staged by M. Wilensky in the Lyric Theatre), "Di dermordung fun rut kruger, in four acts and six scenes, after all the facts of the Yiddish and English newspapers" (later called "Mames hit eyere tekhter"),30 June 1917, staged by Z. Weintraub in the National Roof Garden) in "A mames harts" (30 August 1918 in the Grand Theatre).

1919 -- one- and two-acters for Yiddish vaudeville theatre in Chicago.

In 1920 N. dramatized Zola's novel, under the name "Fun khupah tsum kbr", as a drama in four acts, which soon thereafter was performed in Boston's Yiddish theatre.

1921 -- under the direction of Jacob Mestel, there was staged in Philadelphia N.'s [under the pseudonym] "Vuhin zoln mir gayn?, a play in three acts with a prologue", which 17 April 1927 was staged under the name "Unzer naye heym" by Joseph Kessler in

the Bronx's McKinley Square Theatre.

1923 -- in Boston's Yiddish theatre there was staged G.'s four-act drama "Farsheydene vegn", and on 20 Septembrer 1923 in the Lenox Theatre there was staged "Dem rbins hoyf, an operetta, music by Mendel Kon. The same play in 1924 was performed by Boris Thomashefsky in Boston (music by P. Laskovsky), and in January 1930 it was staged by Herman Fenigstein in Paris under the name "Di khasidishe khasene".

On 6 January 1927, Joseph Kessler staged in the McKinley Square Theatre N.'s "Flamen fun libe, music by. A. Olshanetsky.

On 25 September 1931 in Brooklyn's Amphion Theatre, there was staged by Sam Auerbach N.'s "Sheyndeles khasene", an operetta in three acts by Ben-Menachem², music by Fleyshman and B. Zeidman.

1925 -- N. was co-director of a Yiddish troupe in Los Angeles.

1926-27 -- prompter in the Bronx's McKinley Theatre.

1928-29 -- in Brooklyn's Rolland Theatre.

1930 -- went out to California together with his wife Sally Weisenfreund, the mother of Muni, and here for a short time he directed a Yiddish troupe, together with Ab. Kogut.

1931-32 -- prompter in the Bronx's Prospect Theatre, and then he went back to California.

M. and Sh. E.

Liliput -- A sheyne operete in lenoks teater, "Frayhayt", N. Y., 28 September 1923.
Spectator [N. Frank] -- Di khasidishe khasunah fun ben-menakhem, oyfgefirt fun herman fenigshteyn, "Parizer haynt", 8 January 1930.
D. Kaplan -- A shehne operete in vilyamsburger amfion teater, "Forward", N. Y., 2 October 1931.

^{1 -- Per a family
member, Nestor actually arrived in the United States in
1905 and lived and worked in Chicago}

^.^{2
-- Ben-Menachem was Nestor's pseudonym (as his father's
Hebrew name was Menachem.}

Adapted from the original Yiddish text found within the "Lexicon of the Yiddish Theatre" by Zalmen Zylbercweig, Volume 2, page 1428.