Acting Jewish: Negotiating Ethnicity on the American Stage and Screen - Softcover

Henry Bial

Softcover

ISBN 10: 047206908X ISBN 13: 9780472069088

Publisher: University of Michigan Press, 2005

Synopsis

The history of the American entertainment industry and the history of the Jewish people in the United States are inextricably intertwined. Jews have provided Broadway and Hollywood with some of their most enduring talent, from writers like Arthur Miller, Wendy Wasserstein, and Tony Kushner; to directors like Jerome Robbins and Woody Allen; to performers like Gertrude Berg, John Garfield, Lenny Bruce, and Barbra Streisand. Conversely, show business has provided Jews with a means of upward mobility, a model for how to "become American," and a source of cultural pride.

Acting Jewish documents this history, looking at the work of Jewish writers, directors, and actors in the American entertainment industry with particular attention to the ways in which these artists offer behavioral models for Jewish-American audiences. The book spans the period from 1947 to the present and takes a close look at some of America's favorite plays (Death of a Salesman, Fiddler on the Roof, Angels in America), films (Gentleman's Agreement, AnnieHall), and television shows (The Goldbergs, Seinfeld), identifying a double-coding by which performers enact, and spectators read, Jewishness in contemporary performance-and, by extension, enact and read other minority identities. The book thus explores and illuminates the ever-changing relationship between Jews and mainstream American culture.

"Fascinating and original . . . Bial's command of sources is impressive, and his concept of 'double-coding' is convincing . . . the book should have no trouble finding a large audience."
-Barbara Grossman, author of Funny Woman: The Life and Times of Fanny Brice

Henry Bial is Assistant Professor of Theatre and Film, University of Kansas. He is editor of the Performance Studies Reader and co-editor of the Brecht Sourcebook.

About this title

About the Author

Henry Bial is Professor of Theatre and Director of the School of the Arts at the University of Kansas. His most recent book is Playing God: The Bible on the Broadway Stage.

Review

"Fascinating and original...Bial's command of sources is impressive, and his concept of 'double-coding' is convincing... the book should have no trouble finding a large audience." - Barbara W. Grossman, author of Funny Woman: The Life and Times of Fanny Brice"

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Michigan Press
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 047206908X
• ISBN 13: 9780472069088
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 208