Indecent a Fascinating Story of a Play From the Early 20th Century That Has Lots to Teach Us Now at Theater Latté Da

Indecent tells the story of the play The God of Vengeance by Sholem Asch. The play premiered in 1907 in Berlin. It was eventually translated into English and performed on Broadway in 1923, where it was shut down and the cast arrested on obscenity charges. The play contains the first lesbian kiss on Broadway.

I’ve never seen the original play, but we are shown bits of it here and told about much of it. The beauty of the play was that it treated the relationship between two women as something beautiful. One character compares the big scene where the two women are caught in the rain to the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet.

A survey of Berlin pre-Hitler reveals a town very different from what it would become with the rise of Fascism. Many of the earliest films about homosexuality were German silent films, such as Different From Others (1919), Michael (1924), and Sex in Chains (1928). Berlin was very open and progressive in many ways. Much as it felt our country was becoming about 15 years ago. Now, as we see the rise of fascism again, we see the attempts by those in power to squash anything progressive or enlightened.

There is a lot of historical knowledge one needs to bring to a play like this in order to fully understand the world in which it takes place. If there is a flaw with this powerful play, it is that it does not provide that historical background. Whether it’s knowledge of Germany’s more tolerant social scene at the beginning of the 20th century, the rise of antisemitism, or even McCarthyism, the more knowledge you come in with, the more you are able to appreciate the play.

But I’m always thinking about that elusive new audience made up of people 20 to 35 years of age. How informed is that person of the canvas on which this play by Paula Vogel is performed? Of course, if the text provides too much historical information, it can kill the narrative drive. I didn’t feel like there was much I missed, but I’m aware that my knowledge of these things might be a little deeper than most, based on the fact I see a lot of theater, watch a lot of movies and have always been fascinated by the classhes between art, politics and social progress. I think a little more context would help in making it accessible to those without the background knowledge. There is some info in the program that I think is useful, but that fact only goes to illustrate the downside of these damn digital programs, which are impossible to view easily on your phone. But we are getting off track here.

The design of the play is steeped in old-world atmosphere. In the opening scenes, it feels as though the action is taking place in a time before electric lighting was widely available, which it is. There is a warmth combined with shadows and smoke that carries the nostalgia of the gas-and-candle age.

The lighting by Søren Olsen is tightly controlled, creating a beautifully atmospheric space. Sarah Bahr’s scenic design and costumes blend elegantly into the light and shadows created by Olsen. Pirronne Yousefzadeh’s direction is filled with well-thought-out choices: the ashes that fall from the characters’ hands at several points, the use of the ghost light at the opening and ending of the play, the contrast between the prudish and the profane, and the realization at the end of the women in the rain scene. It was just the perfect way to end the show.

The cast includes three musicians who pull double duty. This isn’t really a musical, but a play with music in it, and they all do a nice job. I appreciated the music that was there, and am always a fan of seeing it performed live on stage.

A favorite for me in the cast was August Forman as Lemml, the stage manager. He is the uncorrupted narrator of the piece, bringing humor, idealism, and integrity to the story.

Robert Dorfman plays the famous actor who plays the father and brothel owner in The God of Vengeance. He is good in that role, but his best moment is when he plays the elderly Sholem Asch at the end of the play.

I also thought the two actors playing various actresses who play the lesbians of the play, Aila Peck and Ani Tonoyan, were especially good, giving all the variations on characters they played a uniqueness that came across.

Indecent runs through October 18th at Theater Latté Da. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to https://www.latteda.org/indecent

I want to alert you faithful readers to a new Website that has just started up in the Twin Cities. It’s called 79 Seconds on Stage and it is a free and full guide to local theatre in the Twin Cities.

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