On the play and the playing: Theatricality as leitmotif in the purimshpil of the Bobover Hasidim.
Item
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Title
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On the play and the playing: Theatricality as leitmotif in the purimshpil of the Bobover Hasidim.
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Identifier
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AAI3037450
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identifier
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3037450
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Creator
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Troy, Shari Shoshana.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Judith Milhous
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Date
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2002
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Theater
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Abstract
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Contemporary ultra-orthodox Jewish communities typically eschew theatre, cinema, television, and most other manifestations of popular culture, living a highly structured religious communal life and minimizing contact with the secular world. Yet, even the most rigorously observant allow theatrical performances during the festival of Purim. They often do so inside their house of study, in the presence of the Torah or holy scrolls, with the participation of the entire congregation.;How is it that theatrical activity comes to be encouraged as part of a religious observance and is practiced even by the most devout on the holiday of Purim? This dissertation analyzes the incorporation of secular and profane elements, namely theatre and its conventions into the Purim celebration of the ultra-orthodox Bobover sect of Hasidim of Brooklyn, NY.;The purimshpil (Purim playlet) is the quintessential Jewish folk theatre form, which emerged from both the letter and the spirit of the law of the biblical Book of Esther. As such, it is a curious reflection of the Jewish experience from perspectives both within and outside of Jewish culture and incorporates both religious and secular elements.;The Bobover Hasidim, located originally in southern Poland, relocated to Borough Park, New York after the Holocaust, where they revived the tradition of presenting a folk play to the community on Purim. The group has elevated performance of the Purim playlet to an important place in its annual calendar of events.;This dissertation examines the purimshpil and posits the performance of this traditional folk play as an event rooted in both western theatre history and Jewish/Hasidic ritual. The cultural and theatrical artifact emerges as a part of the life-blood of the community and an important element in the group's astonishing post-World War II revival.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
