Pepi Litman

Pepi Litman
Litman, c. 1910s
Born
Pesha Kahane

c. 1876
Tarnopol, Eastern Galicia
Died13 September 1930 (aged 55–56)
Vienna

Pepi Litman (Yiddish: פּעפּי ליטמאַן, born Pesha Kahane; c. 1876 – 13 September 1930) was a cross-dressing female Yiddish vaudeville singer associated with the Broderzinger movement.[1] Litman led a popular traveling theater troupe around Europe, performing highly satirical songs while costumed as a male Hasidic Jew. Because she frequently performed while costumed as a young boy or as a male dandy, she is considered a proto-drag king performer.[2] Pepi Litman made numerous 78rpm recordings[3] which capture her energetic and virtuosic singing style, and which also stand as a document of Jewish life in Eastern Europe.[4]

  1. ^ Zylbercweig, Zalmen (1934). "Litman, Pepi", in Leksikon fun Yidishn Teater (Lexicon of the Yiddish Theatre; in Yiddish). With the assistance of Jacob Mestel. Volume 2. Warsaw: Elisheva. columns 1054-1057.
  2. ^ Pollack, Chana. "Pepi Littman, Yiddish Drag King". Forverts. The Yiddish Forward. Retrieved Jan 17, 2017.
  3. ^ "WorldCat Identities". Worldcat. Online Computer Library Center.
  4. ^ Segal, Miryem-Khaye (Amanda) (2 February 2012). ""The Broder Singers: Forerunners of the Yiddish Theater"". YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, Joseph Kremen Memorial Lecture.