The Melting Pot is a play by Israel Zangwill, first staged in 1908. It depicts the life of a Russian Jewishimmigrantfamily, the Quixanos, in the United States. David Quixano has survived a pogrom, 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.
David Quixano emigrates to America in the wake of the 1903 Kishinev Massacre 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.
Titleedit
David, the hero, proclaims:
There she lies, the great Melting Pot—listen! Can't you hear the roaring and the bubbling? There gapes her mouth [He points east]—the harbour where a thousand mammoth feeders come from the ends of the world to pour in their human freight. Ah, what a stirring and a seething! Celt and Latin, Slav and Teuton, Greek and Syrian,—black and yellow—
VERA: Jew and Gentile—
DAVID: Yes, East and West, and North and South, the palm and the pine, the pole and the equator, the crescent and the cross—how the great Alchemist melts and fuses them with his purging flame! Here shall they all unite to build the Republic of Man and the Kingdom of God. Ah, Vera, what is the glory of Rome and Jerusalem where all nations and races come to worship and look back, compared with the glory of America, where all races and nations come to labour and look forward![1]
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.[2]
Early productionsedit
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."[3][4][5] 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 played David, Henry Vogel played Herr Pappelmeister and Chrystal Herne (daughter of James A. Herne) played Vera.[6][7]
The Melting Pot public domain audiobook at LibriVox
January 01, 1970
melting, play, melting, play, israel, zangwill, first, staged, 1908, depicts, life, russian, jewish, immigrant, family, quixanos, united, states, david, quixano, survived, pogrom, which, killed, mother, sister, wishes, forget, this, horrible, event, composes, . The Melting Pot is a play by Israel Zangwill first staged in 1908 It depicts the life of a Russian Jewish immigrant family the Quixanos in the United States David Quixano has survived a pogrom 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 The Melting PotTheatre Programme for The Melting Pot 1916 Written byIsrael ZangwillCharactersDavid QuixanoDate premiered1908 Contents 1 Plot 2 Title 3 Early productions 4 Revival 5 References 6 Sources 7 External linksPlot editDavid Quixano emigrates to America in the wake of the 1903 Kishinev Massacre 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 editDavid the hero proclaims There she lies the great Melting Pot listen Can t you hear the roaring and the bubbling There gapes her mouth He points east the harbour where a thousand mammoth feeders come from the ends of the world to pour in their human freight Ah what a stirring and a seething Celt and Latin Slav and Teuton Greek and Syrian black and yellow VERA Jew and Gentile DAVID Yes East and West and North and South the palm and the pine the pole and the equator the crescent and the cross how the great Alchemist melts and fuses them with his purging flame Here shall they all unite to build the Republic of Man and the Kingdom of God Ah Vera what is the glory of Rome and Jerusalem where all nations and races come to worship and look back compared with the glory of America where all races and nations come to labour and look forward 1 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 2 Early productions editThe 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 3 4 5 It opened at the Comedy Theatre in New York on September 6 1909 and ran for 136 performances It was produced by Liebler amp Co and staged directed by Hugh Ford As in the original production Walker Whiteside played David Henry Vogel played Herr Pappelmeister and Chrystal Herne daughter of James A Herne played Vera 6 7 Revival editThe play received a production at New York s Metropolitan Playhouse in March 2006 The play was performed at the Finborough Theatre London in December 2017 It was the first UK production of The Melting Pot since 1938 8 References edit The Melting Pot e book Gutenberg Project Sollors Werner Beyond Ethnicity Consent and Descent in American Culture New York Oxford University Press 1986 p 66 Guy Szuberla Zangwill s The Melting Pot Plays Chicago MELUS Vol 20 No 3 History and Memory Autumn 1995 pp 3 20 Leftwich Joseph Israel Zangwill The Internet archive Rochelson Meri Jane 2008 A Jew in the Public Arena The Career of Israel Zangwill Wayne State University Press pp xxiii 180 81 Burns Mantle and Garrison P Sherwood eds The Best Plays of 1909 1919 New York Dodd Mead amp Co 1933 p 399 The Melting Pot IBDb The Melting Pot by Israel Zangwill Finborough Theatre December 2017 Sources editEdna Nahshon From the Ghetto to the Melting Pot Israel Zangwill s Jewish Plays Wayne State University Press 2006 ISBN 978 0 8143 2955 9External links editThe Melting Pot at Project Gutenberg nbsp The Melting Pot public domain audiobook at LibriVox Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Melting Pot play amp oldid 1210659094, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
