Last Weekend for Chagall @ Jewish Museum

I couldn't agree more with Helen Shaw that thou must get thee to the Jewish Museum pronto to see the remaining two days of their "Chagall & Russian Jewish Theatre" exhibit.

There's actually relatively little Chagall and lots of Russian Jewish Theatre. And that means lots of not only classic Yiddish Theatre (extensive production materials famous titles like The Dybbuk, The Golem [pictured above], God of Vengeance, as well as fascinating lesser-knowns) but also some amazing images and relics of 1920s constructivist-style design and mise-en-scene. (Including work of Vakhtangov as well as some genius named Aleksei Granovsky, who to me was the real discovery of this exhibit.)

So it's a cool exhibit for any theatre lover or Yiddish Theatre buff, but a must for stage designers and epic-minded directors. Some of the images, set models, renderings, and--yes--films will blow your mind. And while many of the items are photographs you can see in the catalogue, what photographs they are. And everything displayed is either from collections in Russia or Israel, so not stuff you'll get to see often.

Plus, admission is free all day today (Saturday). Closes tomorrow, Sunday. If you can't make it, the website itself offers a good tease and has some useful resources. And a pricey catalogue with all the good stuff.