Sholem Asch News

Indecent, currently playing at JCC's CenterStage Theatre, is one of the company's most ambitious productions to date because of its cultural significance, its significance in Jewish history, and the fact that this is its first time being staged in the Rochester area. And not unimportantly, it's also just a really entertaining piece of theatre.

Artistic Director Chris Coleman has announced the 41st season of the DCPA Theatre Company, the producing regional theatre arm of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA). The new season kicks off performances on August 30 and will feature eight productions including two world premieres from the 2019 Colorado New Play Summit and - for the first time in repertory - A Doll's House and A Doll's House, Part 2.

INDECENT is a more than decent as good theatre. I'd see it again if only for the beauty of the production. Performances run through April 14th with tickets available at http://bluebarn.org/tickets/ or by calling 402-345-1576.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel's Indecent, will make its Boston premiere featuring the Tony Award-winning direction by Rebecca Taichman, a seasoned Broadway design team and many members of the original Broadway cast.

The cast has been announced for the upcoming production of 'Indecent' by Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel. This Tony Award-nominated play will be produced at the Ahmanson Theatre in a co-production with Huntington Theatre Company. Directed by Tony Award winner Rebecca Taichman, 'Indecent' runs from June 5 through July 7, 2019. The opening is set for June 9.

Indecent is about the power of theater to dazzle and uplift. Playwright Vogel has discussed plays that make the hair stand up on her neck. That is exactly what Indecent does: makes the hairs stand up on the back of the neck, and we may be at a loss to explain.

Paula Vogel's 2015 play Indecent, in a production now arrived at Center Stage after stops at D.C.'s Arena Stage and the Kansas City Rep, is a staggering tour de force of playwriting prowess that is also a tour of a largely forgotten world: international Yiddish theater shortly after the turn of the last century. A play about a play about a play, it follows Sholem Asch's God of Vengeance on a circular path, from Lodz, Poland in 1906 to Warsaw, to various stages in Europe, through Ellis Island and various New York theaters, culminating with an abortive stay on Broadway, and thence back to Lodz once more, at the peak of the Holocaust. And then, in a sort of coda, it concludes in Connecticut with the last days of Mr. Asch. All these parts are contained within an initial framing device in which, like Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, a stage manager named Lemml (Ben Cherry), introduces the players and musicians, apparently members of a turn-of-the-century Yiddish theater troupe, and identifies the kinds of parts they will play (like male and female Ingenues). Everything that follows, i.e. a play about presenting a play, is presented as a play performed by this troupe.

Winner of numerous awards including an acclaimed Tony-winning run on Broadway, "Indecent" by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel, is the true story of a groundbreaking scandalous play and the courageous artists who risked their careers and lives to perform it.

'Indecent' is a deeply moving play inspired by the true events surrounding the controversial 1923 Broadway debut of Sholem Asch's 'God Of Vengeance' - a play seen by some as a seminal work of Jewish culture, and by others as an act of traitorous libel.

TEVYE SERVED RAW made its New York premiere in 2018 to unanimous rave reviews ("Hilarious" - Jewish Standard; "Incredibly moving" - Tablet; "Brilliantly directed" - Forward) and, by popular demand, returned this year to its home at The Playroom Theater, 151 West 46 Street (just east of Seventh Ave.) There are only two more performances before the strictly limited engagement concludes tonight.

This production, of 'Indecent', triumphs through it's precision and timing of choreography, music, and intricate scene movement . Incorporating period musical numbers, that give reference to the time, this show is complete from beginning to its dramatic conclusion. "Indecent" runs approximately one hour and 45 minutes and is performed with no intermission.  The show runs through February 10, 2019 and tickets are available at KCRep.org or by calling (816) 235-2700

TEVYE SERVED RAW made its New York premiere in 2018 to unanimous rave reviews and, by popular demand, will return this Monday, January 28th to its home at The Playroom Theater, 151 West 46 Street (just east of Seventh Ave.), where it will play through February 13th.

The TEVYE SERVED RAW troupe – currently preparing to resume performances at The Playroom Theater – will present a selection from their show on April 15th at Carnegie Hall, as part of FROM SHTETL TO STAGE: A CELEBRATION OF YIDDISH MUSIC AND CULTURE. The evening will also feature Mike Burstyn, Paula Vogel, Avi Hoffman, Eleanor Reissa, Joanne Borts, Daniel Kahn, violinist Gil Shaham, and pianist Evgeny Kissin.   

2018 has given South Florida a fun cornucopia of live theatre, from the Southeastern premiere of Freaky Friday at Slow Burn to the national tour of Hamilton at the Broward Center. Since 2019 is already well underway, here is a look at what South Florida theatre has to offer this year.

Sholem Aleichem's Tevye stories formed the basis of Fiddler on the Roof. TEVYE SERVED RAW presents this material 'raw,' i.e., as it was created in Europe, before being Americanized for Broadway.

Happy New Year Rochester theatre-goers! It is now officially 2019, and with it a new year full of wonderful theatrical productions of all varieties on stages large-and-small across the 585. We're fortunate to live in a city with some of the most diverse and eclectic arts organizations in New York State, so I thought I'd take a minute to highlight some of the productions I'm most excited about in 2019. A couple caveats: #1, the typical theatre season runs September(ish)-June(ish), and most theatre companies haven't announced their 2019-2020 seasons yet, so this article really only encompasses the first half of 2019; and #2, my theatrical tastes and interests aren't necessarily representative of the wider theatre-going community, so this list may not reflect Rochester's most anticipated or talked-about shows on the horizon (notice RBTL's upcoming run of Hamilton didn't make the cut, not for lack of worthiness). That being said, enjoy, and as always your thoughts and feedback are welcome!

Arena Stage presents Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel's thought-provoking play Indecent. Inspired by the 1923 Broadway debut of Sholem Asch's Yiddish drama The God of Vengeance, and the controversy that surrounded its themes of censorship, immigration and anti-Semitism, Vogel explores the behind-the-scenes story of the courageous artists who risked their careers and lives to perform this piece of theater under the most challenging circumstances. Infused with music that combines standards from Yiddish theater with folk traditions of the early to mid-20th century, Indecent, a co-production with Baltimore Center Stage and Kansas City Repertory, is directed by Eric Rosen, with choreography by Erika Chong Shuch and music direction and original music by Alexander Sovronsky. The production runs November 23 - December 30, 2018 in the Kreeger Theater.

Kansas City Repertory Theatre honors strong women everywhere, be they community leaders, artists, CEOs, entrepreneurs, students or stay-at-home moms, as they announce the second half of their 2018/19 season with FIVE plays by FIVE female playwrights, all of which celebrate the strength, intelligence, and bravery of women everywhere.

Arena Stage presents Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel's thought-provoking play Indecent. Inspired by the 1923 Broadway debut of Sholem Asch's Yiddish drama The God of Vengeance, and the controversy that surrounded its themes of censorship, immigration and anti-Semitism, Vogel explores the behind-the-scenes story of the courageous artists who risked their careers and lives to perform this piece of theater under the most challenging circumstances. Infused with music that combines standards from Yiddish theater with folk traditions of the early to mid-20th century, Indecent, a co-production with Baltimore Center Stage and Kansas City Repertory, is directed by Eric Rosen, with choreography by Erika Chong Shuch and music direction and original music by Alexander Sovronsky. The production runs November 23 - December 30, 2018 in the Kreeger Theater.

Arena Stage presents Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel's thought-provoking play Indecent. Inspired by the 1923 Broadway debut of Sholem Asch's Yiddish drama The God of Vengeance, and the controversy that surrounded its themes of censorship, immigration and anti-Semitism, Vogel explores the behind-the-scenes story of the courageous artists who risked their careers and lives to perform this piece of theater under the most challenging circumstances. Infused with music that combines standards from Yiddish theater with folk traditions of the early to mid-20th century, Indecent, a co-production with Baltimore Center Stage and Kansas City Repertory, is directed by Eric Rosen, with choreography by Erika Chong Shuch and music direction and original music by Alexander Sovronsky. The production runs November 23 - December 30, 2018 in the Kreeger Theater.