Thomashefsky left Imperial Russia at a time when Yiddish theater was still thriving there ( it was banned in September 1883 ) .
He had never actually seen it performed prior to the 1882 performance he brought together in New York .
Although Thomashefsky left Imperial Russia at a time when Yiddish theater was still thriving there ( it was banned in September 1883 ) , he had never actually seen it performed prior to the 1882 performance he brought together in New York .