David Mirvish is pleased to present the long-anticipated Toronto premiere of Studio 180 Theatre’s production of INDECENT directed by Joel Greenberg — the same company and director who have created such successful past Off-Mirvish productions as Clybourne Park, Oslo and King Charles III — will feature a cast of 10 of the country’s finest artists who will portray more than 40 characters as they bring to dramatic life this story about the transformative power of theatre.The Tony Award®-winning play INDECENT is the first show in the 2022-23 Off-Mirvish season and begins performances October 14 to November 6, 2022 at the CAA Theatre. Tickets go on sale Saturday August 13 through www.mirvish.com.

The cast of INDECENT includes Matt Baram, Jonathan Gould, Jessica Greenberg, Tracy Michailidis, Dov Mickelson, Sarah Orenstein, Emilyn Stam, John David Williams and Laetitia Francoz-Lévesque.

INDECENT by Paula Vogel, is directed by Joel Greenberg; with set design by Ken Mackenzie; costume design by Michelle Tracey; lighting by Kimberly Purtell; projection by Cameron Davis; sound design by Thomas Ryder Payne; properties by Chynah Philadelphia, and Score and Original Music by Lisa Gutkin and Aaron Halva. The Stage Manager is Laura Baxter.

ABOUT THE PLAY

In 1923, after highly celebrated and groundbreaking productions in Europe, the Broadway debut of Sholem Asch’s drama God of Vengeance set the stage for an explosive moment in theatrical history when it finally opened on Broadway. What European audiences had found brilliant, dazzling and moving, Broadway audiences responded with shock and disgust. The entire cast was arrested and charged with obscenity. Suddenly this evocative work of Jewish culture that explores religious hypocrisy, among other social issues, was a cause célèbre. The evocative work of Jewish culture was praised and criticized for taboo themes of censorship, immigration, and anti-Semitism.

In 2015, inspired by these true events and the controversy of God of Vengeance on Broadway, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel debuted a play about this explosive moment in theatre history. Premiering at Yale Repertory Theatre, she called her play INDECENT. Combining music, song, dance and comedy, INDECENT takes us behind-the-scenes to tell the true story of this forgotten controversy and the courageous artists who risked their careers and lives to perform a work deemed “indecent.” The play explores the nature of theatre, anti-Semitism, censorship, politics, homophobia and true love.

INDECENT was immediately praised as gripping and wildly entertaining. The play opened in New York at the prestigious off-Broadway Vineyard Theatre and, in 2017, transferred to Broadway, where its reception was the opposite to the one that greeted God of Vengeance almost a century earlier, winning two Tony Awards®.

Filled with music and dance, INDECENT combines the high entertainment of theatre with the heartbreak of the loss of art and culture for an entire people. An ensemble of 10 Canadian actors and musicians portray more than 40 roles in this riveting and richly theatrical backstage drama. “Brimming with good faith” (The New York Times), this enchanting Tony Award®-winning play is a testament to the transformative power of theatre that is more timely than ever.

This production of INDECENT marks the 20th Anniversary season of Studio 180.

“Superbly realized…. Indecent, the powerful play by Paula Vogel, sheds an eye-opening light on a little-known time when theatrical history, Jewish culture, and the frank depiction of homosexuality intersected, with explosive results.” - The New York Times

“Gorgeous. Illuminating and heartbreaking. Rich in sympathy, Indecent has the scope of an epic but the intimacy of a chamber piece…. It celebrates and illustrates the power of theater.” - Time Out New York

“Gravely beautiful, quietly moving, altogether exquisite.” - The Boston Globe

“Indecent reminds us of the power of art to tell us truths long before we are able to recognize them as such.” - Los Angeles Times

“Revelatory…. As intimate and immediate as a whispered secret. Vogel’s play thrums with music, desire, fear, and it’s shrewd about the ways in which America isn’t free, and about how art does and doesn’t transcend the perilous winds of history.” - New Yorker

“So much rich emotion about history and the theater. A gripping and entertaining show with laughter and tears!” - Newsday

INDECENT

October 14 - November 6, 2022

CAA Theatre, 651 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON

Performance Schedule

Tuesday - Saturday: 8:00 PM

Wednesday matinees: 1:30 PM

Saturday & Sunday matinees: 2:00 PM

Running Time: 1 hour and 40 minutes, no intermission

Tickets: $50 - $99 available only through www.mirvish.com and by phone at 1-800-461-3333