The Tony Award-winning play Indecent comes to GREAT PERFORMANCES, Friday, November 17 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) as part of the fall Broadway’s Best lineup.
Indecent, along with the previously announced GREAT PERFORMANCES airings of She Loves Me, Present Laughter, and Holiday Inn, was directed for television by Emmy Award-winner David Horn, executive producer of both GREAT PERFORMANCES and THIRTEEN’s local Theater Close-Up series. The four titles are productions by BroadwayHD in association with THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC for WNET.
“It was especially gratifying for me to be able to film this important and moving play, one whose themes still very much resonate in our own times,” said Horn. “Throughout GREAT PERFORMANCES’ over 40 year history, we have helped bring artists’ visions on tough issues to a wide audience that mightn’t otherwise have a chance to experience such impactful works.”
Indecent‘s heart-wrenching and emotional themes remain relevant today. The deeply thought-provoking play, dramatizing how freedoms and ideas were persecuted in the 1920s, conveys the message of love and tolerance that needs to be preserved and shared with audiences worldwide.
Written by Pulitzer Prize-winner Paula Vogel, created by Ms. Vogel and Rebecca Taichman, and directed by Ms. Taichman, Indecent is about the love and passion to create theatre, even in the most difficult of circumstances. The play follows a troupe of actors, the cast of Sholem Asch’s God of Vengeance, who risked their lives and careers against enormous challenges to perform a work in which they deeply believed, at a time when art, freedom and truth were on trial. It is a story told with compassion and honesty, but also with great theatricality, and joyous songs and dances.
The capture of Indecent was completed just prior to its final Broadway performance in August. Eight high-definition cameras captured every heartbreaking moment of this production at Broadway’s Cort Theatre.
Indecent won two 2017 Tony AwardsÒ, for Best Direction of a Play (Rebecca Taichman) and Best Lighting Design of a Play (Christopher Akerlind). The production also received the Outer Critics Circle Award and Obie Award for Outstanding Director of a Play (Rebecca Taichman), the Drama Desk for Outstanding Lighting Design for a Play (Christopher Akerlind) and the Lortel Award for Outstanding Choreography (David Dorfman). Paula Vogel has been honored with a Special Citation as playwright and mentor from the New York Drama Critics Circle, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Obie Awards.
Indecent features Katrina Lenk, Mimi Lieber, Max Gordon Moore, Tom Nelis, Steven Rattazzi, Richard Topol and Adina Verson, and musicians Matt Darriau, Lisa Gutkin and Aaron Halva. The production also features Ben Cherry, Andrea Goss, Eleanor Reissa, Zoë Aqua, Uri Sharlin and Doug Wieselman.
Indecent features music composed by Lisa Gutkin and Aaron Halva, who play onstage along with cast members throughout the show.
“The themes of love and inclusion present in Indecent are something everyone can still appreciate and understand today,” said BroadwayHD co-founders, Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley. “Recording these brilliant shows is so important, and we’re honored to be able to continue to spread this message for years to come.”
“On behalf of the producing team for Indecent, we are truly grateful to our friends at WNET and BroadwayHD for choosing to preserve Paula Vogel and Rebecca Taichman’s remarkable production,” said producer Daryl Roth. “This timely and joyous play will be available to a much wider audience, spreading its vital message of the enduring power of art.”
Indecent replaces the previously announced Prince of Broadway in the same timeslot. The Harold Prince performance documentary will now air sometime in 2018.
The production is choreographed by David Dorfman. Scenic design is by Riccardo Hernandez; costume design is by Emily Rebholz; lighting design is by Christopher Akerlind; sound design is by Matt Hubbs and projection design is by Tal Yarden.
Indecent was produced on Broadway by Daryl Roth, Elizabeth Ireland McCann and Cody Lassen, Jerry Meyer, Jay Alix & Una Jackman, Elizabeth Armstrong, Julie Boardman, CoGro Partners, Nicole Eisenberg, Four Star Productions, GLS Productions, The John Gore Organization, Kathleen K. Johnson, Dana M. Lerner, Jenn Maley, Mano-Horn Productions, Marc Platt, and Storyboard Entertainment, in association with Yale Repertory Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse and Vineyard Theatre.
GREAT PERFORMANCES is produced by THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC for WNET, one of America’s most prolific and respected public media providers. Throughout its more than 40 year history on public television, GREAT PERFORMANCES has provided viewers across the country with an unparalleled showcase of the best in all genres of the performing arts, serving as America’s most prestigious and enduring broadcaster of cultural programming.
Indecent is a production of BroadwayHD in association with THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC for WNET.
Indecent is directed for television by David Horn. It is produced by Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley.
For GREAT PERFORMANCES, Mitch Owgang is producer; Bill O’Donnell is series producer; David Horn is executive producer.
