Indecent
The True Story of a Little Jewish Play
 |
| Program Cover |
The True Story of a Little Jewish Play
By Paula Vogel
Score & Original Music by Lisa Gutkin & Aaron Halva
Indecent is the most important play of 2026.
I knew nothing about this play going into it. Which was great! As much as I love seeing something that I am familiar with, there’s an excitement in seeing something new. This play was absolutely wonderful in many ways.
I learned that this play premiered on Broadway in 2017. Indecent is a play about the play titled God of Vengeance that premiered in Berlin in 1907 and Broadway in 1923. After seeing Indecent, I am curious about seeing God of Vengeance. God of Vengeance is a play written in Yiddish in the early 1900’s. The play God of Vengeance was performed around Europe. The play is also controversial, as it’s a Yiddish play with a lesbian couple at the center of the story. When the play comes to America, it is performed in Yiddish in downtown Manhattan. When the play moves to Greenwich Village, it gets translated to English by a different writer. That writer also removes some of the scenes that makes it special. What is left is not the same show. What’s the saying? Something got lost in translation. In this case that is literally what happened. What was presented in English caused the play to be shut down, by the moral authority of New York City in 1923 and the cast was arrested. That makes me think about what shows since then could have faced scrutiny from some moral authority. Some shows that come to mind are Oh Calcutta, Hair, Chicago, A Chorus Line, Grease, the Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Torch Song Trilogy, La Cage Aux Follies, Falsettos, The Boys in the Band, The Normal Heart, Rent, Spring Awakening, Passion and many more.
The play focuses on Avram, who is the playwright of God of Vengeance. Ryan London Levin plays Avram
with a passion and a drive. This is also a play with music. Spencer Chandler plays an accordion, Rebecca Mac plays the violin, Pat O’Keefe plays the clarinet and other wind instruments. The rest of the cast brings so much to this story. Robert Dorman plays Otto, August Forman plays Lemml, Tony Larkin plays Mendel, Ann Michaels plays Vera, Aila Peck plays Halina, Ani Tonoyan plays Chana. I really liked August Forman’s performance of Lemml. He was the narrator and heart of the play.
 |
| Photo by Dan Norman |
with a passion and a drive. This is also a play with music. Spencer Chandler plays an accordion, Rebecca Mac plays the violin, Pat O’Keefe plays the clarinet and other wind instruments. The rest of the cast brings so much to this story. Robert Dorman plays Otto, August Forman plays Lemml, Tony Larkin plays Mendel, Ann Michaels plays Vera, Aila Peck plays Halina, Ani Tonoyan plays Chana. I really liked August Forman’s performance of Lemml. He was the narrator and heart of the play.
I try to not give away the ending with my reviews. I really want to mention the ending of Indecent. Throughout the play, we keep hearing about this rain scene with the two leading ladies. We get to see that scene in the rain, and it’s beautiful.
Theater Latta Da takes us on a wonderful journey with their first show of their 2026/2027. Don’t hestistate, buy tickets right now. This show is not to be missed. This show needs to be experienced live at the theatre.
Indecent plays through October 18, 2026. Check out www.latteda.org for tickets.
