"Spanning ten years and two continents, and set in the colorful world of the Yiddish theater, Wandering Stars is an epic love story by the great Yiddish humorist Sholem Aleichem, creator of Tevye of Fiddler on the Roof fame. It is translated here in full for the first time, one hundred years after its original publication, and for the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of its author's birth." "In the waning days of the nineteenth century, a travelling Yiddish acting company arrives in the small Russian shtetl of Holenshti. The townspeople react in unision: "What is this? Actor types - comedians - who needs them?" But for Reizel, daughter of a poor cantor, and Leibal, son of a rich man, the theater is magic, and they immediately fall under its spell." "Fleeing Holeneshti to join the acting company, Reizel and Leibel soon become separated. Reizel goes on to become Rosa Spivak, concert star, and Leibel becomes Leo Rafalesco, theatrical sensation. Kept apart by their own successes and by a motley cast of managers who exploit their talent, they are wandering stars, going from stage to stage, from city to city, touring all the major European capitals and eventually reaching New York, where they experience firsthand the city of dreams shattered and fulfilled, of love thwarted and consummated." "Suffused wih the humor, whimsy, and wistfulness that are Sholem Aleichem's hallmarks, Wandering Stars is an engrossing romance, an anthem for the theater, and a great New York story, rediscovered here in a vibrant new translation."--BOOK JACKET.
