''The Melting Pot'' is a play by
Israel Zangwill
Israel Zangwill (21 January 18641 August 1926) was a British author at the forefront of cultural Zionism during the 19th century, and was a close associate of Theodor Herzl. He later rejected the search for a Jewish homeland in Palestine and ...
, first staged in 1908. It depicts the life of a
Russian Jewish immigrant family, the Quixanos. David Quixano has survived a
pogrom
A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russia ...
, which killed his mother and sister, and he wishes to forget this horrible event. He composes an "American Symphony" and wants to look forward to a society free of ethnic divisions and hatred, rather than backward at his traumatic past.
Plot
David Quixano emigrates to America in the wake of the
1903 Chișinău pogrom in which his entire family is killed. He writes a great symphony called "The Crucible" expressing his hope for a world in which all ethnicity has melted away, and falls in love with a beautiful Russian Christian immigrant named Vera. The dramatic peak of the play is the moment when David meets Vera's father, who turns out to be the Russian officer responsible for the annihilation of David's family. Vera's father admits his guilt, the symphony is performed to accolades, David and Vera agree to wed and kiss as the curtain falls.
Title
David, the hero, proclaims:
Although the idea of "melting" as a metaphor for ethnic assimilation had been used before, Zangwill's play popularized the term "
melting pot" as a symbol for this occurrence in American society.
Early productions
''The Melting Pot'' opened in Washington, DC, at the Columbia Theatre, on October 5, 1908. President Theodore Roosevelt, in attendance that night, is said to have shouted "That's a great play, Mr. Zangwill." It opened at the Comedy Theatre in New York on September 6, 1909, and ran for 136 performances. It was produced by Liebler & Co. and staged (directed) by
Hugh Ford. As in the original production,
Walker Whiteside
Walker Whiteside (1869 – 1942) was an American actor who had played Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Shylock while still in his teens.
Early life
Walker Whiteside was born on March 16, 1869, near the confluence of the Wabash and Eel rivers ...
played David,
Henry Vogel played Herr Pappelmeister and
Chrystal Herne (daughter of
James A. Herne
James A. Herne (born James Ahearn; February 1, 1839 – June 2, 1901) was an American playwright and actor. He is considered by some critics to be the "American Ibsen", and his controversial play ''Margaret Fleming'' is often credited with havin ...
) played Vera.
Revival
The play received a production at New York's
Metropolitan Playhouse
The Metropolitan Playhouse is a resident producing theater in New York City's East Village. Founded in 1992, the theater is devoted to presenting plays that explore American culture and history, including seldom-produced, "lost" American plays an ...
in March 2006.
The play was performed at the
Finborough Theatre
The Finborough Theatre is a fifty-seat theatre in the West Brompton area of London (part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) under artistic director Neil McPherson. The theatre presents new British writing, as well as UK and world pr ...
, London, in December 2017. It was the first UK production of ''The Melting Pot'' since 1938.
References
Sources
* Edna Nahshon, ''From the Ghetto to the Melting Pot: Israel Zangwill's Jewish Plays'' (
Wayne State University Press
Wayne State University Press (or WSU Press) is a university press that is part of Wayne State University. It publishes under its own name and also the imprints
Imprint or imprinting may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Imprint'' (TV series), ...
), 2006.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melting Pot, The
1908 plays
British plays
Works about immigration to the United States