Indecent
88%
88%
(1167 Ratings)
Positive
95%
Mixed
4%
Negative
1%
Members say
Absorbing, Great acting, Great staging, Thought-provoking, Intelligent

About the Show

Vineyard Theatre's critically acclaimed production of playwright Paula Vogel and director Rebecca Taichman's play about a controversial Yiddish show transfers to Broadway.

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Critic Reviews (101)

The New York Times
April 18th, 2017

"'Indecent' arrives on Broadway as one of the season’s most respectable—and respectful—plays...It is virtuous, sturdily assembled, informative and brimming with good faith...Yet the ardor that must have informed the writing and early performances of 'Vengeance' only occasionally blazes forth in 'Indecent'...For all its resourceful stagecraft, 'Indecent' can be deflatingly earnest in its dialogue and timeline exposition...There is little room for the subversive pull of conflicting subtext."
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Time Out New York
April 18th, 2017

"I was deeply moved by the play when it was at the Vineyard Theatre last year. On Broadway, with the same wonderful ensemble cast, it fills a much larger space without losing its essential intimacy. The script is Vogel’s, the staging Taichman’s, but the two are so lovingly intertwined as to be almost inseparable...Rich in sympathy and humor...An elegant tribute to things that vanish in the blink of a historical eye, 'Indecent' is a memorial that feels like a blessing."
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New York Magazine / Vulture
April 18th, 2017

"I already found 'Indecent' more worthy than fine when I saw it last year. But a second viewing of the play, now pumped up and retuned, only makes its problems more obvious. Happily, its good qualities are enhanced as well...Vogel has done little to trim the tired jokes or rethink the scene-setting shortcuts that suggest her lack of interest in the subtleties of real behavior...Vogel has never been a practitioner or exponent of naturalism...That style may simply not suit a history play."
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Deadline
April 18th, 2017

"Make haste for the Cort Theatre simply to share the astonishing power of this new play with music about a delicious ancient Broadway scandal that pulses through the decades to our own time...In addition to the music, 'Indecent' is moved swiftly by David Dorfman’s limpid choreography in concert with Taichman’s sensitive direction...It isn’t understating to call this fantastic play a work of all-encompassing art...It’s an exhilarating ride you’ll never forget."
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New York Daily News
April 18th, 2017

"A heart-stirring and haunting play...Vogel and Taichman tell the story in vibrantly theatrical fashion. The ace ensemble breathes life into more than three dozen characters, with an array of accents to match...'Indecent' covers a lot of territory in 100 unbroken minutes—subjects and themes include sex, religion, money, hypocrisy, plus the decline of the Yiddish language. It can be a bit diffuse. Still, the images are indelible...Be prepared for precipitation to fall from your own eyes."
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Variety
April 18th, 2017

"A riveting backstage drama...Thanks to Taichman’s impressionistic direction and David Dorfman’s stylized choreography, a troupe of long-slumbering Yiddish actors rise from the ashes and stiffly come to life to play their parts in this drama...We already know the outcome of their professional arguments. But such is the tension of the production, you want to stand up and warn this brave little troupe to catch that ship before it sails."
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Chicago Tribune
April 18th, 2017

"A highly skilled, clearly personal and deftly structured piece...You can feel the historical force and weight of Vogel's play, which likely will be a future staple of regional theater...Authentically acted by an egalitarian ensemble and staged with hefty symbolic gravitas and surety by Taichman...Vogel's connection to this play and what it did for her as a young artist is at the core of why 'Indecent' deserves this production and the support it surely will need from the audience."
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Entertainment Weekly
April 18th, 2017

"Not to say the characters or predicaments seem in any way generic. 'Indecent' is a play with music, and the production nods to Yiddish and epic theater, using deliberately self-conscious staging and direct calls to our social and moral conscience...'Indecent’s' excellent ensemble also convey an exuberance and a sense of purpose, reminding us that art can motivate, agitate and uplift. In our own troubled century, there’s at least some encouragement to be found there."
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