Paula Vogel's Powerful Tony Winning Drama
As part of its groundbreaking 2018/19 season programming of diverse, award-winning playwrights and modern landmark works tackling themes of power, politics and pleasure, Arena Stage and artistic director Molly Smith present Pulitzer Prize-winner Paula Vogel's Tony-winning drama Indecent. Chronicling the powerful true story of the 1923 Broadway production God Of Vengeance, the deeply moving play weaves together themes of love, desire, religion and societal repression for a truly thought-provoking and oftentimes poignant theater experience.
Written by Polish-Jewish dramatist Sholem Asch, God Of Vengeance is an early 20th century Yiddish play that debuted in New York in 1922. The play's daring subject matter centred on the tale of a Jewish brothel owner who attempts to maintain respect in his community by commissioning a Torah and marrying his daughter to a scholar. But his daughter falls for one of his female prostitutes, which prompted public outrage and even landed the show's producer and lead actor in jail. Vogel's story about a play examines the lives of all those who brought Asch's important story to the stage, the challenges they faced and how it irrevocably changed her as a playwright.
