What's obscene, and what's antisemitic? Wilbury play 'Indecent' offers no easy answers

It was indecent. It was shocking. It was pornographic. And a century ago, in 1923, its Broadway producer and cast were tried for obscenity.

Now, this controversial play is back, in a way, as the Wilbury Theatre Group in Providence presents acclaimed playwright Paula Vogel’s “Indecent.” This is a play about a play, namely Yiddish writer Sholem Asch’s “God of Vengeance,” which created so much controversy 100 years ago.

“Indecent” is a tricky play to produce, as it time-travels from Europe in 1906 to Connecticut in 1952, with plenty of stops along the way, including Ellis Island and a performance in the attic of a Polish ghetto in 1943. The seven actors each play multiple characters and “speak” multiple languages, including Yiddish.

There’s also music and song, with the actors supported by violin, accordion and clarinet.

What was so scandalous about the play 'Indecent' is based on?

“It’s a play about Judaism and humanity, but it’s also very lively, and moves quickly,” said director Susie Schutt. “When we think about an “issue” play, audiences sometimes fear it will be boring. But this is lively and fun, and you feel as though you become part of the story.”

The original “God of Vengeance,” written in Yiddish, concerned a brothel owner who tries to gain respectability by marrying his daughter to a scholar — until she falls in love with one of the women in the brothel.

When an English version came to Broadway in 1922, the producer and cast were arrested for obscenity. They were found guilty, but the conviction was overturned on appeal.

Josh Short, artistic director of the Wilbury, said he read “Indecent” a few years ago when it was on Broadway in 2017. “It has complexity, but it was presented on a spare stage, so it forces the audience to use its imagination,” he said.

Antisemitic and white supremacist incidents on rise in RI

Short said it’s an apt time to present a play with Jewish themes, with antisemitic incidents on the rise nationally and in Rhode Island. Rhode Island had 142 reported incidents of white supremacist propaganda last year, marking a 74% increase over 2021, and 19 antisemitic incidents in 2022, up from 17 in 2021, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

(Coincidentally, The Gamm Theatre in Warwick just finished a play called “Bad Jews,” by Joshua Harmon, although Short said the two theaters never consulted one another.)

In 1922, many Jews felt that a play about a brothel owner and a lesbian romance did exactly not cast a flattering light on the Jewish people.

Does the play libel or humanize the Jewish people?

In the 1923 obscenity trial of “God of Vengeance,” prominent Rabbi Joseph Silverman testified for the prosecution. “This play libels the Jewish people,” Silverman said in a newspaper interview. “Even the greatest anti-Semite could never have written such a thing.”

“I understand the argument,” said Schutt. “But I feel this [“Indecent”] humanizes the Jewish people. The Jewish population is as complex as any. ... There’s this idea that some things have to stay within the community. But when can we share our own faults? And why are they even faults?”

In an introduction to the script, Vogel said the impetus for “Indecent” was a 2009 phone call from director Rebecca Taichman, who asked Vogel if she were interested in writing about “God of Vengeance.” The two worked together over several years to create “Indecent,” which debuted as a co-production of the Yale Repertory Theatre and the La Jolla Playhouse in California in 2015.

In 2017, “Indecent” came to Broadway. Taichman would win a Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play.

Paula Vogel's deep connection with Rhode Island

Vogel, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1998 for her play “How I Learned to Drive,” has a deep connection to Rhode Island. From 1984 to 2008 she founded and ran the playwrighting program at Brown University, which became an educational partnership between Brown and Trinity Rep.

Short said he invited Vogel to attend a performance of “Indecent” at Wilbury. Vogel replied that she’d be there if possible, although she’s extremely busy right now.

Wilbury and Temple Beth-El to conduct May 1 discussion on 'Indecent'

Wilbury will host a conversation about “Indecent” in cooperation with Rabbi Sarah Mack of Temple Beth-El in Providence on May 1 at 6 p.m. (Mack said there was a similar event at The Gamm for “Bad Jews.”)

“In general, good art — and that includes theater — holds up a mirror," Mack said. "And that can force us to look at things that may be uncomfortable. This play invites us to reflect on homophobia, antisemitism, and prejudice against immigrants.”

Mack said she’s grateful to both theaters, The Gamm and Wilbury, for producing plays that wrestle with questions of Judaism and Jewish identity, particularly at a time when antisemitism is on the rise.

If you go ...

What: "Indecent," by Paula Vogel

When: Through May 7

Where: Wilbury Theatre Group, 475 Valley St. (Waterfire Arts Center), Providence

Tickets: Pay what you can from a range of tiers: $35 (standard admission); $55 (community partner); $15 (budget friendly); $5 (access for all)

Info: thewilburygroup.org, (401) 400-7100

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: 'Indecent' explores Jewish identity in true story of Broadway scandal