The Habima - Israel's National Theater 1917-1977. A Study of Cultural Nationalism by Emanuel Levy (review)

Book Reviews 247 considerable number of opponents to what Poesia en voz alta was doing. Within three pages, however,those "numerous reviewers" dwindle to "a reviewer or two" who only had "reservations." One cannot know the source ofsuchconfusion: it could be differing recollections, interpretations, or Unger discounting hostile opinion. On the top of p. 24. however, we find the statement that the costumes for the first production were made by "Mexico's finest craftsmen" from "very expensive" and "uncommon" materials; at the bottom of that same page. we discover that "common" and "indigenous materials" were used to produce "inexpensive" costumes in that very production. That sort ofconfusion comes, I suspect, from an attempting by the aurhor to generalize about a highly variable practice, namely, costuming: some costumes may have been very expensive, others not. But the upshot of such writing is that the reader loses confidence in the writer's grasp of the material. Confidence is not restored by the grammatical and syntactical weaknesses in the text either. For example, on p. 12 , we read, "of the ensuing meetings, held at the office of Garcia T6rres, the first were devoted to ironing out major facets of the project. ... " Putting aside the question of how or why one might "iron out ... facets" of a thing, we sense that the verb does not seem to agree with the subject. This sort of grammatical anomaly, while not typical, is not rare either. Drab syntax is also a regular feature of this study. On p. 32, for example, we find this clutch of choppy sentences describing the members of the company: '"They were not students. They were young , with the exception of Hemi1ndez. They were generally neophytes, with the exception of Godoy. ... .. On p. 125, we read: "precisely why this particular play, the Electra by Sophocles, was chosen is inconclusive." Motivations may be illogical or obscure, but they can scarcely be inconclusive. On p. 16, we find this: "what is certain is that these anists [i.e., the company members1 had a restless, artistic need for expression, and that seems to be the centrifugal force that impelled them to this venture." That line sent me into a most amusing reverie on "centrifugal force" at work on a theatre company. I do not for a moment wish to condemn Unger for writing such sentences; I suppose we all write syntax as bad or worse on occasion. By the same token, I think it unfortunate indeed that she was so ill-served by her editor that these sentences were published. This book has more than a fair share of howlers, an effect which suggests editorial negligence; as a result oftbat negligence, the book is very easy to put down. Nevertheless, it should be read for at least three reasons: first, Unger has much to say about an exciting theatrical venture; second, sbe provides a useful introduction to contemporary Mexican theatre; and third, she manages to exercise an interesting methodology for oral historiography in theatre. Ifshe is not entirely successful, she nonetheless has made a very promising start, and I, for one. look forward to reading more of her work - particularly if she has the services of a more conscientious editor than she had this time. JOHN W. BROKAW, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN EMANUEL LEVY. The Habima - Israel's National Theater 1917-1977. A Study of Cultural Nationalism. New York: Columbia University Press 1979. Pp. xix, 346, illustrated. $22.50. The designation "National Theater" is a mixed blessing. The phrase itself implies that the company bearing that identity has as its principal mission to promote the national Book Reviews culture which supports it. In cases too numerous to list here, national theater companies often become stagnant in their commitment to insular fare. Such could have been the case with the Habima, whose early history clearly marked it as a purveyor of a Russian Jewish ideological position through theatrical means. But the Habima (whose name means the platfonn from which the Torah is read in the synagogue) overcame its early parochialism to attain its status as an international theater company. Levy's book tracks the company from frustration to fruition, from its founder's naivete through artistic...