INDECENT by The ARTS and OHPN

Indecent

The ARTS at Marks Garage

June 21-30

Thu-Sat at 7:30pm, Sun at 2:00pm

Hawaiʻi State Premiere of 
Indecent by Paula Vogel 

The Kiss that Shocked Broadway 
Indecent runs June 21-30, 2019 
Co-produced by The ARTS at Marks Garage 
and The Open Home Performance Network

The ARTS at Marks Garage and the Open Home Performance Network present the Hawaiʻi state premiere of Indecent, the acclaimed 2017 Tony nominee for Best Play. Written by Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel and directed by Lurana Donnels O’Malley, Indecent tells the true story of the play which featured the first same-sex kiss on Broadway in 1923, leading to the arrest of its entire Yiddish theatre troupe for obscenity. Performances will run June 21, 22, 27, 28, and 29 at 7:30pm and June 23 and 30 at 2:00pm at the ARTS at Marks Garage. Tickets are $15-$25 on eventbrite and at the door, with Early Bird discounts available for advance purchase for first weekend performances.

Indecent, a play with music and dance, centers on the story of Jewish writer Sholem Asch, his controversial play The God of Vengeance, and the many actors and theatre-makers who were a part of the play’s history. Indecenttransports audiences across decades of time, through many locations and dozens of characters, weaving a story that is not only about Asch and his play, but one that is also about Jewish history, about culture and survival, and about censorship and oppression from both within and without a community. Director O’Malley believes Oʻahu audiences will find many connections with this new work, stating, “Local audiences should recognize a lot in the story of this Yiddish theatre troupe: the connection of language to culture, the need for freedom in artistic expression, the battle for representation and against stereotypes.”

Indecent features a multicultural and multi-generational cast of 7 in multiple roles, and 2 onstage musicians. O’Malley says, “This is your chance to catch the Hawaiʻi state premiere of one of Paula Vogel’s greatest plays, with an impressive group of local performers, in an intimate setting.” O’Malley also emphasizes that this play is “about today,” noting the timeliness of the issues and questions it raises. In a political climate when censorship and free speech, when antisemitism, intolerance, and bigotry against LGBTQ+ and immigrants are deeply relevant issues, O’Malley hopes the play, in bringing to light some of the darker moments of world and U.S. history, will serve to remind audiences that “this is a time when we need tolerance and we need to nourish our arts.” Additional historical and contextual information about the true story of The God of Vengeance obscenity trial, compiled by dramaturg/assistant director Kat Altman and assistant dramaturg Christie Honoré, can be found at www.openhomeperformance.org

The ARTS at Marks Garage co-produces Indecent with the Open Home Performance Network, a new incarnation of an independent arts project established in the early 1990s by Lurana Donnels O’Malley and Sean T.C. O’Malley. In its new incarnation, the Open Home Performance Network aims to produce performance work with current social relevance. Lurana, Professor of Theatre at UH Mānoa, recently directed June is the First Fall (KKT) and The Spitfire Grill (UHM). Lurana has collaborated three times with Sean acting as her Music Director (On the Verge, Vinegar Tom, Translations). Sean is a playwright (To the Last Hawaiian Soldier, Wilcox’s Shot) and moonlights as a vocalist/guitarist with local improv rock band Oil in the Alley; Sean plays multiple instruments onstage in Indecent with his daughter Ruby O’Malley on violin.

EVENT: 
Indecent by Paula Vogel 
PRESENTED BY: 
The ARTS at Marks Garage and the Open Home Performance Network 
WHEN: 
June 21, 22, 27, 28, 29 at 7:30pm; June 23 and 30 at 2pm 
WHERE: 
The ARTS at Marks Garage 
1159 Nuʻuanu Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96817 
www.artsatmarks.com 
TICKET PRICES: 
Tickets are $25 regular, $20 for seniors and military, and $15 for students. Early bird discounts for first weekend performances only; must purchase online before June 20. All seats are general admission. Some mature themes. 
PURCHASE INFO: 
Advance tickets (recommended) are available online: Eventbrite Link 
Tickets available at the door one hour prior subject to availability. 
PRESS CONTACT: 
openhomeperformance@gmail.com