Theatrical Liberalism

For centuries, Jews lived in diverse countries with vibrant theatrical cultures, yet they were one of the few peoples without a sanctioned theatrical tradition of their own. In the modern era, however, Jews came to be among the most important creators of popular theater and film in America. Why? In Theatrical Liberalism, Andrea Most illustrates how American Jews used theater to navigate encounters with modern culture, negotiating a position for themselves within and alongside Protestant liberalism by reimagining key aspects of traditional Judaism as theatrical. Discussing works from the Hebrew Bible to The Jazz Singer and Death of a Salesman, Most situates American popular culture in the religious traditions that informed the worldviews of its practitioners. Theatrical Liberalism offers a comprehensive history of the role of Judaism in the creation of American entertainment, reexamining the distinction between the secular and the religious, providing a new way of understanding both modern Jewish culture and liberalism, as well as their crucial contributions to a pluralist society. With extensive scholarship and compelling evidence, this engaging volume shows how the Jewish worldview that permeates American culture has reached far beyond the Jews who created it.