plavner/rivkele

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

Rivke'le Plavner
(Regina Berger)

P. was born in Lodz, Poland.

She was the sister of actor Mendl Plavner.

She completed a middle school. She learned Yiddish through a "writer".

Even in her early youth she participated in amateur productions, and because of her brother's connection to the Yiddish theatre, she became a chorus singer in the "Grand Theatre" (Director Itzhak Zandberg), where she later performed in episodic roles with the performers Aaron Lebedeff and Michal Michalesko.

In the time of the First World War, she became a soubrette in the same theatre (Directors Julia Zandberg, M. D. Vaksman, Julius Adler and Herman Serotsky), performing in a range of European operettas, and, during the guest appearance of Ester Rukhl Kaminska she acted as the "youth" in Bateyl's "Dos umfarshtendike meydl". Later she went over to the Skala Theatre (Directors Adler and Serotsky), and she performed as "Stasya" in "Di chardash-firshtin" with Zina Goldstein.

After a long break in her acting career, she immigrated to America and acted under the name of Regina Berger during the 1929-1930 season as a prima donna in Littman's People's Theatre in Detroit.

She also had the opportunity to participate in the productions of the guest-starring Ben-Ami, Goldenberg and Berta Kalich. In the 1930-1931 season, she acted a- the Lando Theatre in Pittsburgh and finished the season as the leading lady in Elving's Metropolitan Theatre in Newark with Pinchas Lawenda and Chaim Tauber during the production of Tauber's operetta "Dos goldene ringele".

In 1932 P. traveled to London, England, where she acted in the People's Theatre during the guest appearance of Celia Adler. She returned in the same year to America, returning to the stage, performing from time-to-time in concerts and on the radio, where she was one of the very first Yiddish singers.

M. E. and Sh. E.

Adapted from the original Yiddish text found within the "Lexicon of the Yiddish Theatre" by Zalmen Zylbercweig, Volume 3, page 1829.