In Imperial Russia during the late 1890s , a rabbi 's wife and her young son Zalmie escape to America while the rabbi is killed by the Cossacks . Shortly after their arrival in New York City , Zalmie is recruited by Louie , a performer at a burlesque house , to hand out chorus slips . As Zalmie grows into adolescence , he spends more time with Louie backstage at burlesque shows . When Zalmie 's mother dies in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire , he begins working with Louie full-time at a small theatre . Though Zalmie aspires to be a singer , he is beginning to enter puberty and his changing voice becomes a significant obstacle . When World War I strikes , Zalmie travels the globe performing for the troops as the bottom half of a pantomime horse and sustains a wound to his throat during a German air raid , which ends his singing career
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire
American Pop