Indecent NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (1,165)
See it if you are interested in the history and the life of a play and individuals, executed passionately and superbly
Don't see it if it's too good not to see
See it if you appreciate performance/history of Yiddish theatre/socialist ideas in Europe/America from 1907-1952, challenging stereotypes Jews/women
Don't see it if you hold rigid traditional attitudes about religion and sin, closed to modern viewpoints, or cannot tolerate defiant, explicit sexuality
See it if you are interested in superb theatre, theatre history, or Yiddish theatre.
Don't see it if you just want to be entertained. Read more
See it if you want to see a beautifully performed period piece that resonates today. The show has brilliant Jewish and gay themes. Very moving.
Don't see it if It's your first Broadway show. It's a deep piece about the history of a show. A casual theatre goer may not enjoy it as much as I did.
See it if want to see one of the best plays on Broadway that vividly tells a story about the power of art and the cost of taking a moral stand.
Don't see it if you are uncomfortable with the moral melodrama at the heart of the play when the first lesbian kiss on stage results in controversy.
See it if You want to see a flawlessly crafted production about the power of humanity (the ads say theatre but I thought it was more universal)
Don't see it if I mean. If you don't like this I can't help you. I suppose that small contingent that reinvents history as not happening wouldn't?
See it if THis is a 100-score show. Profond, masterful, honest and moving, theatrtically, politically and culturally
Don't see it if Everyone should see this show
See it if You are looking to be moved by a historical story that will deeply resonate.
Don't see it if You aren't emotionally prepared.
Critic Reviews (101)
"It’s the Jewish 'Shuffle Along'...Vogel tells her complicated, sprawling story with urgent economy...With a title like 'The God of Vengeance,' you might think you’re in for a real night of penance at the theater. On the contrary. Under Rebecca Taichman’s dazzling direction, much humor is exposed, especially with the repeated hurling of that Torah. Also, Vogel nicely details the personalities within the Yiddish troupe."
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"'Indecent,' which might well be more powerful today than the original was when it reached Broadway in 1923, is given an impeccable production by director Rebecca Taichman, a very-much-in-tune team of designers, and an excellent and enthusiastic cast...Vogel and Taichman tell their story in inventive and exuberant fashion...Verson and Lenk play the rain scene several times over the course of the play; the last rendition is breathtaking and gasp-inducing."
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“Although it could use some serious trimming, Vogel’s play with music is excitingly staged under Rebecca Taichman’s direction, and it makes the most of elements in ‘God of Vengeance’…Once the production gets going all is redeemed by the excellent performances...The situation cries out for a double bill with 'God of Vengeance' staged in all its ahead-of-its-time emotional drama, and then followed by Vogel’s take on its creation. It would make for a grand if lengthy combination.”
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"'Indecent,' a thrilling and poignant new play that opened last night, may have been 20 years in the making, but its story of scandal and struggle could hardly be more timely...This company inhabits every character in Vogel’s deft, poetic, and utterly entertaining account of the controversy that greeted another, older play...The journey is a deeply felt and challenging exploration of language, freedom of expression, the struggle for belonging, and ultimately, love."
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"Though it’s passionate, 'Indecent' is not a polemic. The eloquent book is peppered with songs and dances...These can lighten proceedings or darken them with sharp juxtaposition to events. Failings and accomplishments are depicted through specific human characters, not ideas. 'Indecent' is both immensely moving and entertaining...The outstanding cast can act, sing, and dance...Director Rebecca Taichman has illuminated a complicated story in accessible, affecting manner."
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"Has there ever been anything quite like 'Indecent,' a play that touches—I mean deeply touches—so much rich emotion about history and the theater, anti-Semitism, homophobia, censorship, world wars, and, oh, yes, joyful human passion?...It was hard to imagine how its specialness might hold up in a big Broadway house...It is a thrill to report that this multilingual (with subtitles as needed) adventure is a natural fit. It’s a gripping and entertaining show with laughter and tears."
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"'Indecent' can feel a little cluttered in its staging. Actors scurry this way and that...But 'Indecent’s' roving eye, its busy-ness, its insistence to be about everything—homophobia, censorship, freedom of expression, tyranny—is as fascinating and genuine as it can be frustrating to watch...You may find yourself a little lost. The characters are too much tellers of direct history, or voices of glancing opinion, rather than characters we really get to know."
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"Beautifully crafted, strongly acted and respectable in every way, yet not as soul-stirring as one would want...So much is tackled that the drama falls by the wayside. 'Indecent' is never uninteresting but it’s more panorama than play. But how beautifully it’s presented!...If 'Indecent' is indecently ambitious, if it wants to share absolutely everything about the fascinating history of an almost forgotten work, well one can only wish more shows were so admirably flawed."
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