Scan barcode
eacohen5's review
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Reading plays is funny and I’m not used to it. That said I think it was/would be very affecting!!
alyssabookrecs's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I loved this play and really would love to see it live sometime. Vogel does a fantastic job bringing these characters to life telling the story of their Yiddish theatre troupe putting on an “indecent” play featuring Jewish lesbian prostitute characters and also following the actors’ interactions with each other and the writer of the play over the decades. I can tell there is heart in this, and I appreciated the fast-paced scene work that still provided so much depth against the historical background of the play in question and the place of Jewish people in European and American societies. I believe this might be Vogel’s writing at her finest.
rdclarkk's review against another edition
4.0
Similarly to The Humans, I think Indecent is written spectacularly for the stage. That is, I think watching the play acted would greatly enhance my experience. Thankfully, the Broadway production was taped by PBS and I’ll be watching it tonight. What an interesting bit of history!
ashkitty93's review against another edition
5.0
I remember being overjoyed when this was nominated for Best Play at the Tonys last year -- alongside Lynn Nottage's SWEAT, Lucas Hnath's A DOLL'S HOUSE PART 2, and JT Rogers' OSLO, which wound up winning the category. But this play fascinated me as soon as I heard about it; you see shows within shows and books within books quite a lot (maybe it's just the things I watch, idk) but this play was dealing with an actual play from the turn of the century. Usually the plays-within-plays or books-within-books are entirely fictional and used as a plot device of some kind. But this was an actual retelling of actual events. Hooked, instantly.
So first I read the play in question, Sholem Asch's GOD OF VENGEANCE. A hugely controversial piece for its day, and likely still for today; it certainly continues to resonate. And then I read INDECENT. And it's incredible. You see the production process, starting with a reading at a friend's house, and everyone is visibly uncomfortable with the material. But they do finally get it on its feet and basically tour Europe, and it is adored. And then it comes to America, where it's shut down on opening night.
What I loved most about this was how much of it is spoken in Yiddish. Paula's text is in English but it will often include a stage direction like "IN YIDDISH:" at the top of the scene. It crossed my mind as I was reading that, if I were to see this on a stage, I wouldn't understand the majority of it. They do speak English in certain parts, but it's mainly Yiddish and German. And I'm totally okay with that. I'm so glad to see Broadway is open to that. (Rather disappointed I missed the PBS Great Performances airing, but such is life.)
I want to think that nothing about this play is "made up", necessarily, that none of the big moments are fictional, because I know Paula researched so much as she wrote this. Toward the end, a scene of continuing to perform theatre in the Lodz ghetto in 1943, was incredibly moving. To follow that with another, back in America with Asch in 1952 as a new production was preparing to be mounted, ensures that anyone who sees or reads this will walk away with a feeling of renewed hope and optimism about the way things change as the world moves forward.
So first I read the play in question, Sholem Asch's GOD OF VENGEANCE. A hugely controversial piece for its day, and likely still for today; it certainly continues to resonate. And then I read INDECENT. And it's incredible. You see the production process, starting with a reading at a friend's house, and everyone is visibly uncomfortable with the material. But they do finally get it on its feet and basically tour Europe, and it is adored. And then it comes to America, where it's shut down on opening night.
What I loved most about this was how much of it is spoken in Yiddish. Paula's text is in English but it will often include a stage direction like "IN YIDDISH:" at the top of the scene. It crossed my mind as I was reading that, if I were to see this on a stage, I wouldn't understand the majority of it. They do speak English in certain parts, but it's mainly Yiddish and German. And I'm totally okay with that. I'm so glad to see Broadway is open to that. (Rather disappointed I missed the PBS Great Performances airing, but such is life.)
I want to think that nothing about this play is "made up", necessarily, that none of the big moments are fictional, because I know Paula researched so much as she wrote this. Toward the end, a scene of continuing to perform theatre in the Lodz ghetto in 1943, was incredibly moving. To follow that with another, back in America with Asch in 1952 as a new production was preparing to be mounted, ensures that anyone who sees or reads this will walk away with a feeling of renewed hope and optimism about the way things change as the world moves forward.
ashleysmilne's review against another edition
5.0
unfair how stunning this is! not even mad that i had to spend fifteen pounds on it!