Indecent

Play

New Work
Writers: Paula Vogel Lisa Gutkin Aaron Halva

Overview

Show Information

Based on the Play/Book/Film
"The God of Vengeance" by Sholom Asch
Category
Play
Number of Acts
1
First Produced
2015
Genres
Drama, Historical/Biographical
Settings
Period, Simple/No Set
Time & Place
Warsaw, 1906, to Bridgeport, Connecticut, 1950s, and everywhere in between
Cast Size
medium
Ideal for
College/University, Community Theatre, Ensemble Cast, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre
Casting Notes
Mostly male cast
Includes adult, young adult, mature adult characters

Synopsis

Indecent by Pulitzer-winning playwright Paula Vogel tells the story of Sholem Asch’s controversial play, The God of Vengeance, and the passionate artists who risked everything to bring it to the stage. A small theatre company tells the story of the play from its inception in Poland in 1907. The story—about the daughter of a brothel owner who falls in love with one of her father’s prostitutes—was polarizing even at its first readings, with many of Asch’s fellows arising him to burn it. Nevertheless, it achieved great success on the stages of Europe and in the Yiddish theatre scene of downtown New York City. But when an English-translation was attempted on Broadway, the play—featuring the first kiss between women on a Broadway stage—proved too scandalous for the general public, and the entire cast was arrested and charged with obscenity. Vogel’s Indecent resurrects Sholem Asch’s great play, and celebrates the love, magic, and hope of the theatre even in the face of the greatest adversities.

Lead Characters


Indecent guide sections