Playhouse On Park To Host Free Panel Discussion UNPACKING THE PLAY: INDECENT By Paula Vogel

Why is a play about a play in 1907 just as relevant, if not more, in 2023? UNPACKING THE PLAY will answer this question and many more, while taking a deeper dive into the story and the themes in Playhouse on Park's current Main Stage production: INDECENT by Paula Vogel.

The panel will take place on Tuesday, February 21, 2023 from 7-8:30pm at Playhouse on Park in West Hartford, CT. Other topics to be explored include: Anti-semitism, Artistic Freedom, Censorship, Homophobia, Immigration, Jewish Culture, and Violence Against Women. UNPACKING THE PLAY will be moderated by Ray Hardman. Guest Panelists include: Rabbi Jessica Dell'Era, Ilene Frank, Reverend Jake Miles Joseph, and David Mazower. This event is FREE, and reservations are required. To reserve your seat, call 860-523-5900 or email BoxOffice@PlayhouseTheatreGroup.org.

INDECENT is running through February 26th at Playhouse on Park. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel tells the explosive and deeply moving story of the controversial 1923 Broadway debut of Jewish playwright Sholem Asch's God of Vengeance-a play about a forbidden lesbian romance that enchanted and outraged audiences. We follow the path of the artists who risked their careers in order to perform it. It actively pays tribute to the Yiddish, immigrant families, Jews, theater makers, and the women, specifically the queer women, who are erased from historical narratives. Indecent is a riveting backstage drama filled with music, movement, groundbreaking theatre, and stage magic. Directed by Kelly O'Donnell. Music Direction by Alexander Sovronsky. Choreography by Katie Stevinson-Nollet.

Ray Hardman is Connecticut Public's Arts and Culture Reporter. He is the host of CPTV's Emmy-nominated original series "Where Art Thou?" Listeners to Connecticut Public Radio may know Ray as the local voice of "Morning Edition", and later of "All Things Considered." Ray started his career at WFSU in Tallahassee, Florida while pursuing a Master's Degree in Opera Performance. He now lives in West Hartford with his wife Kathleen, his two teenage boys, and Charlie, the naughty Black Lab. He also fronts a garage rock band called "The Radiation."

Rabbi Jessica Dell'Era (she/they) is the spiritual leader of Temple Shalom in Medford, MA. Before becoming a rabbi, she was a Spanish bilingual public school teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she grew up. She graduated from the Jewish Theological Seminary with ordination from the Rabbinical School and a Master's in Sacred Music from the Cantorial School. She also holds a Master's in Education from the University of California, Berkeley.

Ilene Frank serves as the Deputy Executive Director / Chief Strategy Officer for the Connecticut Historical Society where she plays a critical leadership role in guiding the museum's programmatic and organizational efforts and advancing the CHS's vision to work with inclusive audiences to promote historical and cultural perspectives as essential tools to connect with each other. Previously, she held leadership positions at the Rensselaer County Historical Society (NY) and the Schenectady Museum & Planetarium (NY). She has also worked at the McFaddin-Ward House (TX) and Historic St. Mary's City (MD). Ms. Frank holds a M.A. in History Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program, State University at Oneonta, and a B.A. from St. Mary's College of Maryland.

The Rev. Jake Miles Joseph is ADL Connecticut's Associate Regional Director. His work at ADL focuses on incident response and statewide capacity building to fight hate and bias. He received his BA in French from Grinnell College and his Masters of Divinity and Graduate Certificate in Human Rights from Emory University. Jake served UCC (Congregationalist) congregations for over seven years in Colorado and in Connecticut focusing on LGBTQ+ equality and affordable housing. Jake currently serves as a Commissioner for Milford Housing and Redevelopment, on the DEI Committee of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO), and as the Chair and Founder of the NAHRO National LGBTQ Subcommittee.

David Mazower is Research Bibliographer and Editorial Director at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Massachusetts. He is Chief Curator of the Center's new core exhibit, Yiddish: A Global Culture, opening later this year, and co-editor of the Center's English-language magazine, Pakn Treger. He also oversees the Center's holdings of hundreds of thousands of Yiddish books and related collections. He writes on Yiddish theater and popular culture, British Jewish history, and the life and work of his great-grandfather, Yiddish writer Sholem Asch (whose play God of Vengeance is at the heart of Indecent). Other recent passion projects include the blog Bronx Bohemians, about the literary salon of Yiddish poet Bertha Kling; and the work of avant-garde women artists in post-WWI Lodz. In a previous life David was a news editor and journalist with BBC World News in London.

About Playhouse on Park: Managed under the direction of Playhouse Theatre Group, Inc., Playhouse on Park is Greater Hartford's award-winning destination for the performing arts. Playhouse on Park offers a wide range of thought-provoking, inspiring and thoroughly enjoyable professional theatre productions that leave audiences often smiling, sometimes crying, and always talking about what they have just experienced.

Tickets are now on sale for INDECENT, and range from $45-$55. Group rates available! Student and Senior discounts are also available. Learn more at www.playhouseonpark.org.

For more information or tickets, call the Box Office at 860-523-5900 x10 or visit www.playhouseonpark.org. Playhouse on Park is located at 244 Park Road, West Hartford, CT 06119.

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