For director Pirronne Yousefzadeh, the play “Indecent” shows that creating art through oppression is more powerful than ever.
The play “Indecent,” now at Theater Latté Da, bites at the hands of censorship, facism and anti-immigration — all challenges that grow more relevant every day.
Written by Paula Vogel, “Indecent” tells a true story about the immigrant theater troupe that performed Sholem Asch’s “little Jewish play,” the “God of Vengeance” on Broadway in 1923. The cast of “God of Vengeance” was arrested, charged with and convicted of obscenity for portraying Broadway’s first lesbian kiss onstage.
“What we do in a theater has power. And if it didn’t, governments of a certain kind wouldn’t seek to silence that work.”
Pirronne Yousefzadeh
For director Pirronne Yousefzadeh, “Indecent” was her dream project. The play’s attention to its history and the characters’ resilience through hardship resonated with Yousefzadeh because of her Iranian-Jewish identity, she said. Especially after Operation Metro Surge, she said, she believes the social justice messages in the play have become even more meaningful to her.
“I think of the need to stand up to fascist forces that would rather silence us, and the need to invest in the power of art in the face of censorship,” Yousefzadeh said. “These are urgent needs for all communities, not just the Jewish community.”
“Indecent” is a call to action for the audience, she said. In the play, the creation and suppression of “God of Vengeance” during the rise of Nazi Germany shows the connection between artistic censorship and facism. That’s why it’s critical to create art that endures in the face of political struggle, Yousefzadeh said.
“What we do in a theater has power,” Yousefzadeh said. “And if it didn’t, governments of a certain kind wouldn’t seek to silence that work.”
When “Indecent” isn’t shepherding tender, lesbian love scenes, or tackling the hurdles of immigration to the United States, it explodes with live Jewish folk music and humor to guide the audience through almost 50 years of history. The central question of the play is revealed by one line said by the character of playwright Sholem Asch:
“Who gets to decide which art is acceptable?”
Theater Latté Da extended the run of “Indecent” until Oct 25.
