''The Tenth Man'' is a 1959 American play, adapted from
The Dybbuk
''The Dybbuk'', or ''Between Two Worlds'' (russian: Меж двух миров ”ибук}, trans. ''Mezh dvukh mirov ibuk'; yi, צווישן צוויי וועלטן - דער דִבּוּק, ''Tsvishn Tsvey Veltn – der Dibuk'') is a play by ...
from S. Ansky.
[Paddy Chayefsky obituary ''New York Times''](_blank)
accessed 29 Oct 2013 It had 623 performances over its year-and-a-half-long
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
run.
[Volume Library, Volume II, Literature]
Cast
*
Jacob Ben-Ami as Foreman
*
Donald Harron
Donald Hugh Harron, (September 19, 1924 – January 17, 2015) was a Canadian comedian, actor, director, journalist, author, playwright, and composer. Harron is best remembered by American audiences as a member of the cast of the long-running co ...
as Arthur Landau
*
Arnold Marlé
Arnold Marlé (15 September 1887 – 21 February 1970) was a German actor who appeared largely in British films and television programmes.
Stage work
His theatre work included appearances on the London stage, and a year-and-a-half-long run on B ...
as Hirshman
*
George Voskovec
Jiřà Voskovec (), born Jiřà Wachsmann and known in the United States as George Voskovec (June 19, 1905 – July 1, 1981) was a Czech actor, writer, dramatist, and director who became an American citizen in 1955. Throughout much of his career ...
as Alper
*
Jack Gilford as Zitorsky
*
Lou Jacobi
Lou Jacobi (born Louis Harold Jacobovitch; December 28, 1913October 23, 2009) was a Canadian character actor.
Life and early career
Jacobi was born Louis Harold Jacobovitch in Toronto, Canada, to Joseph and Fay Jacobovitch.
Jacobi began acting ...
as Schlissel
*
Gene Saks
Gene Saks (born Jean Michael Saks; November 8, 1921 – March 28, 2015) was an American director and actor. An inductee of the American Theater Hall of Fame, his acting career began with a Broadway debut in 1949. As a director, he was nominated ...
as Rabbi
*
Risa Schwartz as Evelyn Foreman
* David Vardi as Sexton
* Tim Callaghan as Policeman
* Martin Garner as Harris
* Alan Manson as Kessler Boy
* Paul Marin as Kessler Boy
Plot
The play involves several elderly
Jewish men from the old country, Russia, all members of a small synagogue in
Mineola, Long Island. The play opens with the hapless Sexton's daily quest to gather ten males to constitute a ''
minyan'' required in Jewish tradition to conduct a religious service. This search has suddenly become critical as the granddaughter of one of the men has apparently become possessed by the spirit of a ''
dybbuk
In Jewish mythology, a (; yi, דיבוק, from the Hebrew verb meaning 'adhere' or 'cling') is a malicious possessing spirit believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person. It supposedly leaves the host body once it has accomplished ...
'', an evil spirit.
The grandfather leaves the girl sitting in the office of the temple's young rabbi, who is
progressive and not likely to believe in the existence of evil spirits.
The men then desperately begin to search for the necessary tenth man so they can hold the prayer service and attempt to exorcise the
malevolent spirit
In mythology and folklore, a vengeful ghost or vengeful spirit is said to be the spirit of a dead person who returns from the afterlife to seek revenge for a cruel, unnatural or unjust death. In certain cultures where funeral and burial or crem ...
.
A young non-believing Jewish man wanders into the synagogue suffering a hangover from a night spent getting drunk. He sees the granddaughter sitting semi conscious and is moved and begins to fall in love. The older men are glad to welcome him because they now have the necessary ten males. The rabbi agrees to conduct the exorcism with the aid of an elderly robed man, the "
cabalist" who had been praying in the temple.
Reception
In ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', Arthur Cantor wrote that ''The Tenth Man'' "marked a great leap forward from the easy
naturalism of the
first Chayefsky theater work ..and displayed his gift for picturesque speech and penchant for themes of
mysticism
Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ...
."
See also
*
Minyan
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tenth Man
1959 plays
Plays by Paddy Chayefsky