In the aftermath of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire immigrants who worked in the sweatshops of the "needle trade" formed labor unions to improve working conditions and pay. Their stories are told through a montage of oral history clips, interviews, and historical documents of the period read by actors, enriched with music of the period. The Yiddish theater provided an escape from the daily grind, and training for actors like Paul Muni who migrated to mainstream show business. Isaiah Sheffer recalls his time as a child actor on the Yiddish stage. Eventually, the children and grandchildren of these immigrants moved out of the Lower East Side to better neighborhoods, higher status and full assimilation, leaving behind the customs, religion and the language of the old country. Narrated and produced by Larry Josephson.

In the aftermath of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire immigrants who worked in the sweatshops of the "needle trade" formed labor unions to improve working conditions and pay. Their stories are told through a montage of oral history clips, interviews, and historical documents of the period read by actors, enriched with music of the period. The Yiddish theater provided an escape from the daily grind, and training for actors like Paul Muni who migrated to mainstream show business. Isaiah Sheffer recalls his time as a child actor on the Yiddish stage. Eventually, the children and grandchildren of these immigrants moved out of the Lower East Side to better neighborhoods, higher status and full assimilation, leaving behind the customs, religion and the language of the old country. Narrated and produced by Larry Josephson.