Page "Bertha Kalich" Paragraph 5

In her new home, Kalich set out to emphasize her dramatic skills over her musical talents, working hard as a proponent of the Yiddish theater movement, hoping to help the theatres gain credibility in addition to notoriety.

Anti-semitism in America had initially led audiences to believe that Jewish immigrants were incapable of producing anything more than low-brow, minstrel entertainment, but Thalia had made a name for itself with its revolutionary Yiddish-language translations of Shakespeare.

Kalich played a number of roles in these landmark works, even beating out the other male stars for a chance to play the coveted role of Hamlet.

According to Yiddish theatre scholar Joel Berkowitx, Shakespeare's plays served " as both sources and symbols " in helping Jewish immigrants " cross the bridge