San Francisco Playhouse is presenting a remarkable play with the recent opening of Paula Vogel’s “Indecent.”
Co-produced with Yiddish Theatre Ensemble, this powerful piece of theater includes traditional Yiddish dance (wonderfully choreographed by Nicole Helfer), a glorious klezmer band and elements of Yiddish theater’s vaudeville style. These lighter components add a needed counterpoint to the more serious nature of the play, which is brilliantly performed by seven actors playing 46 different roles.
Vogel’s story recounts the real-life controversy surrounding Sholem Asch’s first play, “The God of Vengeance,” considered a seminal work of Yiddish theater by some and a piece of traitorous libel by others. It begins in 1906 with the first reading of the play in Poland, where Asch is told to “burn” the script. It follows Asch’s troupe of players from their successful Berlin performance in 1907 and subsequent touring throughout Europe before coming to the United States.
While the play received praise throughout Europe and in New York’s Yiddish theater community, such was not the case when it moved to Broadway in 1923. Complaints about the lesbian relationship depicted and explicit sexuality resulted in the producer and cast being arrested and convicted on the grounds of obscenity.
“Indecent” continues to give a rich historical perspective as it follows the stage manager back to Poland where he and a small, starving troupe perform the Yiddish version of the play wherever they can. It ends in 1952 as Asch, who is persecuted by the U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee, prepares to move to London.
SF Playhouse does a beautiful job realizing this complex play’s rich emotional life over the 50-year span of the story. Thanks to Richard Olmsted’s open set, Suzi Damilano’s skilled direction, Helfer’s fluid choreography and the talented cast, the play’s locales and time periods gracefully meld from one to another. Suitcases are creatively used, ashes at the beginning and end of the play produce a plethora of emotions and an impressive water feature brings the play to a dramatic close.
The outstanding cast features Rivka Borek, Rachel Botchan, Billy Cohen, Dean Linnard, Victor Talmadge, Malka Wallick and Ted Zoldan. The fabulous musicians, who also play minor roles and freely mingle with the cast, are Dmitri Gaskin (accordion), Audrey Jackson (clarinet) and Matthew Stein (violin).
“Indecent” runs through Nov. 5 in the SF Playhouse at 450 Post St. inSan Francisco. For tickets, call 415-677-9596 or go to sfplayhouse.org.
Lafayette: You can still catch Town Hall Theatre Company’s “The Body Play” by Madison Wetzell. The lightly produced new work is part of the company’s “New Voices” series, which features never-produced plays by Bay Area playwrights. In this work, Wetzell explores what happens when Amy submits her body to the scrutiny of experts to determine why she feels awful all the time.
“Amy’s journey to figure out what is wrong with her body is a story I related to as soon as I read Madison’s funny, absurd and very touching play,” said director Lisa Anne Morrison. ‘The Body Play’ speaks to so much of what we go through as humans struggling with what it means to have a healthy mind and body that can co-exist as one.”
“The Body Play” is showing at 8 p.m. Oct. 14-15 in the Town Hall Theatre at 3535 School St. in Lafayette. Call 925-283-1557 or go to townhalltheatre.com online for tickets and details.
Berkeley: “The Museum Annex” by Mildred Inez Lewis is up next for Central Works in Berkeley. Directed by Elizabeth Carter, the comedy is an homage to George Wolfe’s “The Colored Museum,” which premiered in 1986.
“Directing a production of ‘The Colored Museum’ in college expanded my idea of what it was possible to do with comedy,” said Lewis. “I wrote ‘The Museum Annex’ as a comic love letter to African American women with everyone invited to listen in, engage, heal and laugh.”
The show runs Oct. 15 through Nov. 13 in the historic Berkeley City Club at 2315 Durant Ave. For tickets, call 510-558-1381 or go to centralworks.org.
Also in Berkeley: Theatre Lunatico will return to the stage Oct. 21 through Nov. 13 to present Martin Crimp’s “Attempts on Her Life” in La Val’s Subterranean Theater at 1834 Euclid Ave. in Berkeley.
Crimp’s play offers insight, misdirection, contradictions and commentary on the life of the protagonist, Anne, through a gauntlet of 17 seemingly disparate scenes. For more information, go to theatrelunatico.org.
Alameda: Altarena Playhouse will hold auditions Oct. 23-24 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Alameda theater for the intriguingly titled play “Slow Food” by Wendy MacLeod. The show will run Jan. 20 through Feb. 19 with Katina Psihos Letheule directing.
The show tells of an empty nester couple celebrating their anniversary in Palm Springs. Everything that can go wrong does. The starving couple stumble into a Greek restaurant where a needy waiter micromanages every part of their dining experience, except for serving the food. Role descriptions, sides and additional information is all available at altarena.org.
Sally Hogarty can be reached at sallyhogarty@gmail.com. Read more of her reviews online at eastbaytimes.com/author/sally-hogarty.
