Indecent
88

Indecent NYC Reviews and Tickets

88%
(1165 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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Show-Score Member Reviews (1,165)

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55 Reviews | 10 Followers
100
Absorbing, Clever, Ambitious, Dizzying, Exquisite

See it if you're interested in the history of theater/American pop culture/Judaism, you want to see a GORGEOUS LGBTQ love story, or love amazing music

Don't see it if you hate having emotions, you have terrible taste, you are an antisemite or someone who hates language

90 Reviews | 40 Followers
100
Absorbing, Exquisite, Masterful, Riveting, Thought-provoking

See it if you want to see an unforgettable theatrical experience. Brilliant performances, writing, and staging. Incredible story from theatre history.

Don't see it if you hate history, theatre, or the Jewish people. This is a perfectly conceived and executed show without a single false moment.

76 Reviews | 25 Followers
100
Ambitious, Clever, Great acting, Great staging, Great writing

See it if You want to witness a piece of theatre that is truly a beautiful ensemble piece

Don't see it if You aren't interested in the subject matter

106 Reviews | 14 Followers
100
Great acting, Great singing, Great staging, Great writing, Intelligent

See it if an intelligent play

Don't see it if don't like Yiddush

110 Reviews | 11 Followers
100
Must see, Perfect cast, Compelling, Thought-provoking, Haunting

See it if You appreciate inventive staging and great theater.

Don't see it if Serious theater is not your thing. Read more

95 Reviews | 31 Followers
100
Absorbing, Great acting, Great staging, Great writing, Profound

See it if You love theatre. This show really hit home that art we believe in can help us pinpoint who we are and direct the courses of our lives.

Don't see it if I can't really think of a reason. Read more

132 Reviews | 32 Followers
100
Great staging, Intelligent, Intense, Masterful, Must see

See it if ...you enjoy complex story lines.

Don't see it if ...you cannot handle holocaust-related materials.

123 Reviews | 57 Followers
100
Ambitious, Exquisite, Great acting, Intelligent, Resonant

See it if This is the best play I have seen in many years. Sophisticated, smart, pitch perfect staging, funny, immensely rewarding, devastating.

Don't see it if You will be moved, troubled and disturbed by this story and you should be. This is positively essential viewing regardless of the difficulty Read more

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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