Broder singer

The Broderzinger (Yiddish: בראָדער זינגער) or Broder singers, from Brody in Ukraine, were Jewish itinerant performers in Austrian Galicia, Romania, and Russia, professional or semiprofessional songwriters and performers, who from at least the early 19th century sang and danced, often in comic disguises, and who performed short one-act plays. They were often badchonim (traditional wedding entertainers) and meshorerim (singers in cantors' choirs). They were among the first to publicly perform Yiddish-language songs outside of Purim plays and wedding parties, and were an important precursor to Yiddish theatre. They erected miniature stages and entertained customers in taverns, wine cellars, and restaurant gardens. The first written records of the Broder singers are the remarks of Jews passing...