Before Sherlock Holmes had fans across the Jewish world, there was Max Spitzkopf, a brilliant, sharp-tongued detective whose adventures captivated Yiddish readers across Europe and the diaspora a century ago. Clever, curious, and fueled by intellect and chutzpah, Spitzkopf was a cultural phenomenon, until history pushed his stories to the margins.
Now, for the first time, one volume of these classic mysteries, Adventures of Max Spitzkopf: The Yiddish Sherlock Holmes, has been newly translated into English and brought thrillingly to life on stage at The Vilna.
Join acclaimed Yiddish stage actor Mikhl Yashinsky for a theatrical performance that revives this forgotten sleuth for a modern audience. Through humor, suspense, and rich cultural nuance, Yashinsky explores what a Yiddish detective can teach us about justice, morality, identity, and the enduring power of storytelling.
The evening is accompanied by live klezmer-inspired music from the Abigale Reisman Trio, creating an immersive journey into the smokey cafes and bustling streets of old-world Europe, where wit, courage, and sharp observation solve even the most confounding cases.
Following the performance, Lisa Newman, Director of Publications at the Yiddish Book Center and White Goat Press, will join us for a conversation about the performance and Q&A with the artists.
Presented in partnership with The Yiddish Book Center and White Goat Press.
Mikhl Yashinsky
Mikhl Yashinsky was born in Detroit and graduated with a degree in European history and literature from Harvard. Now living in New York City, he works as a teacher, translator, performer, and playwright. With the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, he performed in the Yiddish-language Fiddler on the Roof directed by Joel Grey and the classic operetta The Sorceress, both New York Times "Critic's Picks."
He is one of the few people in the world today writing original full-length Yiddish theatre works, among them the drama The Gospel According to Chaim (New Yiddish Rep, 2023–4), and the musical Feast of the Seven Sinners (14Y Theater, 2025). He has taught Yiddish at Columbia, the University of Michigan, and Tel Aviv University and co-authored the award-winning Yiddish language textbook In eynem (White Goat Press).
Lisa Newman
Lisa Newman is the Director of Publishing and Public Programs at the Yiddish Book Center. Prior to joining the Yiddish Book Center, Lisa managed public relations and publishing projects for a variety of nonprofit and corporate clients. After moving to western Massachusetts to work for New England Monthly, she went on to work with numerous national magazine and book publishers. She has been an instructor at the Radcliffe Publishing Course and the Columbia Publishing Course and a panelist at industry events. She is a graduate of New York University.
Abigale Reisman
Abigale Reisman is a violinist, composer, improviser, and educator. She is particularly interested in expressing the human voice through the violin and connecting her klezmer fiddling to the rhythms and accents of the Yiddish language. Abigale is a performer, composer, and arranger with the International Jewish Music Festival award winning band, Ezekiel's Wheels Klezmer Band. She regularly performs in a duo with renowned klezmer scholar and performer Hankus Netsky. In 2024, Abigale was commissioned by the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra to write a Concerto for Klezmer band and orchestra, which premiered on September 5th in Aalborg, Denmark.
Lautaro Mantilla
Lautaro Mantilla, DMA is a guitarist, composer, and improviser from Bogota, Colombia. In his performances, he typically combines guitar, extended vocalization techniques, and homebuilt electronics to create music that is both viscerally affecting and conceptually rigorous. Based in Boston, Lautaro is active in the free improvisation music scene and is a faculty member of the Contemporary Musical Arts department at New England Conservatory. Lautaro holds a Master’s in Classical Guitar and improvisation and a Doctorate in Composition both from New England Conservatory in Boston.
Mattias Kaufmann
Mattias Kaufmann is an accordionist and composer based in Boston, MA, known for their work with the interdisciplinary Yiddish theater group Magid Ensemble & klezmer bands Mamaliga and Farnakht. Mattias has taught and performed at international klezmer festivals, including Yiddish New York, Yiddish Summer Weimar, and KlezKanada, and holds a degree in Contemporary Improvisation from New England Conservatory.
In partnership with:
