The Dybbukast - The Marvelous Puppet Show

The Marvelous Puppet Show

06/14/24 • 48 min

This illuminated lecture brings together readings from the short play "The Marvelous Puppet Show" by Miguel de Cervantes, published in 1615, with a talk from Dr. Barbara Fuchs, Distinguished Professor of Spanish and English at UCLA and director of Diversifying the Classics. Dr. Fuchs reveals the ways in which Cervantes' uncannily prescient interlude dissects the foibles of belief and belonging and poses uncomfortable questions for the here and now.

This episode was recorded live on April 20, 2024 at First Congregational Church of Los Angeles and is presented in collaboration with Diversifying the Classics at UCLA. The podcast presentation is supported in part by a grant from the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

Learn more at theatredybbuk.org/podcast.

Previous Episode

At Newport

In this episode, presented in collaboration with Hebrew College, we begin by exploring two poems from the second half of the 19th century by prominent American poets. One, "The Jewish Cemetery at Newport," by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, is generally thought to have been written during a visit to Newport in 1852 and was then published in 1854. The other, a response to that work by Emma Lazarus, called "In the Jewish Synagogue at Newport," was likely written in 1867 and then published in 1871.

Rabbi Dan Judson, Provost of Hebrew College, discusses how the poem by Lazarus both builds upon and deviates from Longfellow's poem. He also shares about the artistic and ideological journey that Emma Lazarus, as a Jewish American writer, took over the course of her career, using her poem "The Banner of the Jew," published in 1882, as an entry point to understand this journey, and touches on the ways in which her evolution speaks to Jewish identity in America and the American experience overall.

Support for this episode is provided in part by A More Perfect Union: The Jewish Partnership for Democracy.

Learn more at theatredybbuk.org/podcast.

Next Episode

Fiction without Romance

In this episode, presented in collaboration with the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education (OJMCHE), we explore Fiction without Romance; or the Locket-Watch, a novel which was written by Maria Polack in the East End of London and published in 1830.

Dr. Heidi Kaufman, Professor of English at the University of Oregon and Regional Museum Educator at OJMCHE, discusses the ways in which the novel, believed to be the first by an Anglo-Jewish writer, upends some of the misconceptions and stereotypes about 19th century life in the East End.

Learn more at theatredybbuk.org/podcast.