its first performance in the united states was a yiddish-language production in new york, produced by and starring jacob adler, in a translation by leon kobrin. it opened on 3 november 1911. several days beforehand, the "new york times" ran an extensive piece on the play by herman bernstein, with a synopsis so thorough as almost to amount to an english translation. typical of the "times"'s somewhat disdainful attitude toward yiddish theater at that time, the article never explicitly mentions adler's impending production, despite being written by one of their few jewish correspondents at that time. the production, which ran for four months, has been credited with reviving the fortunes of serious yiddish-language theater in new york, after a period of about six years in which lighter fare had dominated.