Zypora Spaisman
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Zypora Spaisman (b. Zypora Tannenbaum in Lublin, Poland, January 2, 1916 - d. May 18, 2002, New York City) was a Polish-American actress and Yiddish theatre empresaria.
She worked in Poland as a midwife for many years, delivering hundreds of children, including during World War II when she witnessed horrendous suffering. After emigrating to the United States in 1954, she became an actress.
She helped keep the Folksbiene Yiddish Theatre in NYC alive for 42 years (along with Morris Adler), before helping to found the Yiddish Public Theater following a dispute with the Folksbiene's new management.
[edit] Folksbiene Yiddish Theatre
This theatre on the Lower East Side of Manhattan was the longest-running Yiddish theatre company in the world, was formed in 1915 as a response to the light, escapist fare then on offer to immigrant audiences, and its commitment to high-quality Yiddish-language theater continued through the decades.
It was sustained by Morris Adler, who joined the company in 1934, and Zypora Spaisman, who joined twenty years later. During their tenure, the Folksbiene became a bastion for Yiddish theater and culture. At its high point, the Folksbiene had 55 actors; In 1997, Zalmen Mlotek and Eleanor Reissa became co-artistic directors of the Folksbiene Yiddish Theater. They invited Zypora to be a part of the new management but she opted to start her own Yiddish theater, which existed for one year before its demise. The Folksbiene, newly named, in 2006, The National Yiddish Theater-Folksbiene now offers performances throughout the year, including children's performances, play readings, concerts and special Gala events.
[edit] Death
She was widowed, and left behind a Washington, D.C.-based son (and his family) after her sudden death from cerebral trauma (which has never been explained) on May 18, 2002, aged 86.
