YIDDISH ART THEATRE

   Yiddish theatre actor Maurice Schwartz initially established the Yiddish Art Theatre in 1918 at the Irving Place Theatre, but built a new theatre for it on Second Avenue soon after. The company stressed Yiddish theatre traditions and was challenged when Jacob Ben-Ami founded the Jewish Art Theatre in 1919 in the style of the revolutionary Moscow Art Theatre. The Jewish Art Theatre only survived for two years due to internal disagreements, while the success of Schwartz's endeavor, which survived until 1950, resulted from offering both classics and lighthearted amusements, a number of which moved from Second Avenue to Broadway.