Molly Picon in EAST AND WEST (1923) with original live score by Donald Sosin and Alicia Svigals

Early in her career, Yiddish theater star Molly Picon traveled to Vienna to make films. The earliest to survive is EAST AND WEST, a blend of comedy, romance and cross-cultural collision. Picon plays an Americanized young Jewish woman whose independent outlook (and pugilistic interests) clash with the Old World traditions of her Eastern European relatives. Jacob Kalich (Picon’s real-life husband) co-stars as a shy yeshiva scholar, while Sidney M. Goldin appears as Molly’s tradition-minded father. This special presentation features live original music composed and performed by world-renowned klezmer violinist Alicia Svigals and celebrated silent film pianist Donald Sosin. September 15, 2026, 7:30 pm, The Cinematheque at the Cleveland Institute of Art. $25/$20 Cinematheque and CSFF members.