Review: Paula Vogel's INDECENT At Playhouse On Park

Paula Vogel's Indecent, now running at Hartford's Playhouse on Park through February 26, dramatizes the production history of a much older play, The God of Vengeance, written in 1907 by Sholem Asch.

Indecent blends fact and imagination to recreate the varied reception, the scandal, and the beauty of Asch's work, which was performed throughout Eastern Europe and in New York (in Yiddish and English), until a disastrous stint on Broadway buried the play for nearly fifteen years, and then for much longer. Directed by Kelly O'Donnell, the theatricality and freewheeling scope of Vogel's play not only rescues The God of Vengeance from relative obscurity, but also asks probing questions about art, antisemitism, censorship, and love that Asch, at least at the time when he was a young man writing his first script, would have relished.

Indecent also explores, among its plethora of subjects, the question of what prompted a Jewish writer to create a gritty and naturalistic story, set in a brothel, in which Jews behave both tenderly and terribly, just as other people do. And not only does Asch write fearlessly about Jews as flawed human beings, at the center of his plot he sets a pure and beautiful love story between two women. How the response to this relationship evolves comes under Indecent's scrutiny, and in addition (among other themes), the play investigates Asch himself and why he transformed, over the years, from an idealistic young artist to a very different kind of man.

A marvelous, fictional character, a poor tailor named Lemml (or, when he arrives in America, "Lou") opens Indecent by introducing himself as our "Stage Manager." Lemml (a touching Dan Zimberg) guides us through the production, both by helping us follow the many characters each actor will play and by weaving direct address together with his own, poignant emotions. Crucially, too, Lemml enacts for us the process of falling in love with theater and experiencing how that love changes his life.

Playhouse on Park is an intimate theater space, and this brings both gains and losses to the experience. We feel thrilled to be so close to the characters and their emotions, and yet, since the plot depicts, in part, the whirlwind of performances all over Europe and eventually in New York, our sense of the high stakes involved in the play's popularity and then downfall is somewhat dimmed on this small stage.

However, O'Donnell has mostly cast Indecent beautifully, and since each actor (other than Zimberg as Lemml) inhabits numerous characters, this is no small accomplishment. Bart Shatto, as the father in The God of Vengeance, among other roles, is at times terrifying and at other times poignant, especially in his final scene, which I will let you discover. Noa Graham is both funny and heartbreaking as the mother and many others. Alexander Sovronsky, Music Director, violinist, and actor; Michelle Lemon, accordionist, and actor; and Jack Theiling on the clarinet as well as acting, form a band that plays mostly Klezmer music, and they perfectly capture a blend of sorrow and joy.

Most poignant and powerful, however, are Kirsten Peacock and-in a bravura understudy performance-Sydney Weiser. These two play the lesbian lovers within The God of Vengeance and portray lovers offstage as well. Weiser also brings youthful excitement, and then subtle despair, to her secondary role as Asch's wife. Peacock is nothing short of mesmerizing in all her roles. She smolders as a Marlene Dietrich-esque nightclub singer, and makes us shiver in a fragile, heartbreaking scene towards the end.

Dan Krackhardt, in the important role of Asch, is not so successful, but this is due to miscasting. He is a strong and accomplished actor, as witness his work in almost all his other roles, but director O'Donnell has made a mistake in placing him in the role of the playwright who suffers so greatly, not due to his determination to write as he does, but due to his pride and his realization that his choices have figuratively and literally destroyed his company of actors.

Technically, the production is strong, despite the challenging space. Choreographer Katie Stevinson-Nollet has created dances throughout that capture numerous moods, and she has led the cast expertly in evoking these varied styles. Johann Fitzpatrick creates an admirable scenic design, given the constraints of the space. And Izzy Fields' costumes believably take us everywhere we need to be. Joe Beumer lights the many settings with clarity, and sound designer Jeffrey Salerno guides us through the key theatrical journeys.

Playhouse on Park itself deserves credit for its artistic courage. As in past seasons, which always offered thought-provoking work, this season has included Lady Day at the Emerson Bar and Grill and August Wilson's Fences, as well as Indecent; coming up is a world premiere, Jacqueline Bircher's Webster's Bitch. Tracy Flater, Co-founder and Executive Director, Sean Harris, Co-Founder and Artistic Director, and Darlene Zoller, Co-founder and Artistic Director have all contributed to filling this small theater with big ideas.

Photo Credit: Meredith Longo

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