Judith Thissen, a specialist of Jewish immigrant entertainment in New York City—especially film culture on the Lower East Side in the early twentieth century—talks about the Sunshine Theatre, one of the last of the iconic “vaud-pic” Yiddish theaters. Originally a Protestant Church, Judith shares the story of how a young Hungarian-Jewish immigrant named Charles Steiner purchased and altered the Lower East Side landmark, creating what would become a neighborhood theater for a generation of Yiddish immigrants.

Episode 0179

March 23, 2018

Yiddish Book Center

Amherst, MA