Page - 48 - in Entangled Entertainers - Jews and Popular Culture in Fin-de-Siècle Vienna

48 | Entangled Entertainers Just a year later, the Folies Comiques began to hold p erformances in the space of the Nestroyhof that Adler-Müller’s failed enterprise had left empty.18 Roland Eder initially led the Fol ies Comiques with a co-partner, before he took over t he direction of the entire operation at the end of 1902.19 Prior to trying his hand at leading a singspiel hall, Eder had gained f ame particularly for his farces. Fritz Lung, of Edelhofer’s Leopol dstadt Folk Orp heum, was brought on board as li- cense holder (see my discussion below). In addition to the texts written by Eder, the Folies Comiques mainly performed pieces by Josef Armin, who, along with his wife, was one of the actors in the ensemble until April 1903.20 Armin’s perfor- mances were part of the actual attraction of the Folies Comiques. Louis Taufstein was also the author of numerous farces that the troupe brought to the stage. As was the case with the Halls of Nestroy, the Folies Comiques echoed var- ious aspects of a cultural tradition associated with Vienna. An example of this group’s relationship to and engagement with Viennese culture was when a mem- ber joined the group in the spring of 1903 who performed as the composer Franz Schubert (1797–1821). Schubert was widely regarded as the epitome of Vienna as a city of music. Only a few years prior, a large exhibit had been dedicated to him and his works, permanently anchoring him in Vienna’s collective memory.21 In referencing the fi gure of Franz Schubert, the Folies Comiques participated in the local cult of personality surrounding the composer and thus positioned their performances within the larger cultural atmosphere that characterized Vi- enna. In addition, this troupe performed “jargon” or “slang” comedy (comedy in Yiddish-infl ected German). One of the plays that we can attribute to the Folies Comiques was titled Family Pschesina, written by Louis Taufstein.22 “Pschesina,” or sometimes “Brzezina,” was the name for a Bohemian stock character in Vienna around 1900, whose Jewish counterpart was “Little Kohn.” Th e name Brzezina gained cultural prominence on account of a comic song called “Servus Brezina” (“Greetings, Bre zina!”) that Emil Várady performed at the Etablissement Garten- bau at the tu rn of the century. Th e name thus became a general byword used to refer to Czechs.23 In everyday Vienna—and even in the Austrian Reichsrat—the term was frequently used in a discriminatory manner.24 At fi rst glance, Family Pschesina is a simple comed y of errors. But the play deals with the question of what constituted Jewishness in fi n-de-siècle Vienna. In the play, Boleslav Pschesina, a wealthy Czech Jew, wants his niece Helen to marry August Lerchenfeld, the son of one of his business associates. He awaits a visit from the future groom. Boleslav’s wife, Eulalia, however, wants Helen to marry her son Isidor so that her jewelry remains in the family. Isidor also feels a strong emotional attachment to Helen. On the day before the anticipated visit, Isidor encounters August Lerchenfeld and his father’s accountant, Menasse Pfei- fendeckel, outside of Pschesina’s villa. When they ask Isidor where Pschesina’s home is, he tells them that it is still a long way off and advises them to stay the night in a nearby brothel. He tells them that Boleslav’s house is the brothel. In This open access edition has been made available under a CC BY 4.0 license thanks to the support of Knowledge Unlatched.