David Cote of Time Out New York reviews "Indecent."
Playwright Paula Vogel has finally made her Broadway debut with a play about a play: "Indecent" is a heartbreaking tribute to Sholem Asch's controversial Yiddish drama "The God of Vengeance." If you care about Jewish history or the power of art to transcend tragedy, "Indecent" must be witnessed.
Sholem Asch's melodrama about faith and family was notoriously banned on Broadway in 1923 due to its sensationalist lesbian subplot. At the time, its realism was considered bad PR for Jews in America, and Jewish rabbis even had a hand in shutting it down.
Vogel's semi-documentary script traces the history of this powerful work from its first reading in Warsaw, 1907 to success across Europe and then scandal in New York. Her way into this world is a stage manager/narrator named Lemml, played with ardor and pluck by Richard Topol.
With the onset of the Holocaust, Asch's play achieved even greater resonance among persecuted Jews.
Rebecca Taichman's direction, blending dance, movement and music, all with a sparse set, is a thing of beauty. Add to it a wonderfully versatile seven-actor ensemble effortlessly juggling roles and live klezmer music, and you have 100 minutes of potent theatrical magic. The elegiac ending will leave you in tears.
It's a busy Broadway season with lots of splashy new musicals and plays with big-name stars. Let’s all say a little prayer that "Indecent," an uplifting and important work, gets the audience it deserves.