Oh, yes, those Hungarians! We find them everywhere. Like those Hungarian sibling pairs on the American theater scene in the early 1900’s. There were the Bányai brothers on the New York stage followed by the Serly sisters, daughters of the noted conductor. The sisters Rózsika and Janka, born in Szatmárnémeti, premiered in New York in 1910. Monte Carlo was their next venue. Their family names underwent many transformations from Schwarz to Serly to Deli and finally to Dolly. They were renowned for their beauty.
The Gellért sisters, were born in Nagybánya not far from Szatmárnémeti. They were of Jewish origin who Magyarized their names just as the Schwarz sisters did. Flora and Piroska followed their brother Zoltán in emigrating to the United States in 1922. Flora was then 26 and Piroska 17.
The talented girls started out as cabaret dancers in New York and went on a tour. For 20 years crisscrossed the U.S. and also such exotic places as Shanghai, Tokyo, and Manila. One 1937 poster advertised their New Year’s program in Panama, Central America. They were cabaret dancers, contortionists and diseuses. Their repertoire of dances consisted of the rumba, the waltz as well as Hawaiian, African and Far Eastern dances.
Arabella, the rubber lady, was danced by the petite Piroska. The sisters had an air of mystery and soft eroticism about them. Unlike the Dolly sisters who parted after 4 years, the Gellért sisters known as Nita and Zita remained together; never married living solely for the stage. They bought a house in New Orleans in the Faubourg Marigny on Dauphine St. For the next 20 years they performed on Bourbon St. They became a fixture in the French Quarter where they also operated a dance studio. They dressed identically in elegant homemade dresses, walked together and shopped together. Their home was decorated with polka dots which are still visible today.
Flora (known as Nita) the older sister died in 1985 at the age of 90. Piroska known as Zita died in 1991 at the age of 87. They are buried next to each other in the Hebrew Rest Cemetery on Elysian Fields Ave. After their deaths the Gellért sisters’ dresses, shoes, handbags and headdresses became popular items in the city’s antique clothing shops.
The remarkable story of the Gellért sisters caught the attention of Kathy Randels performance artist and Katie Pearl actress and producer. They decided to bring to life the story of Nita and Zita with the assistance of playwright and producer Lisa D’Amour and stage designer Olivia Wildz.
After 2 years’ of research ArtSpot production premiered the play in December 2001. The musical score for the play Nita and Zita was written by Tom McDermott. The music is available on CD titled The Magyar Sisters.
The actresses Kathy Randels and Katie Pearl asked me to teach them Hungarian songs, pronunciation and dances so they could perform in authentic manner at a fundraising party and bring to life the original Zita and Nita.
After a successful performance in New Orleans, the play was staged at the Here Studio in Soho in New York. The play became an Off Broadway success and won an OBIE /Off-Broadway Theater Award /award. It will be staged again in New Orleans at the Contemporary Arts Center January 5-16, 2005 followed by the Cutting Edge Theater in Minneapolis, and also at the Here Studio in New York in February 2005.