{"id":1089,"date":"2017-04-18T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2017-04-18T16:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/?p=1089"},"modified":"2023-05-04T11:30:47","modified_gmt":"2023-05-04T16:30:47","slug":"the-stones-outtake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/the-stones-outtake\/","title":{"rendered":"The Stones Outtake"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

[Editor\u2019s note: <\/em>Indecent reimagines the story of Sholem Asch\u2019s classic Yiddish drama <\/em>Got fun nekome [God of Vengeance], from when the young playwright first shared the work in Yiddish writer I. L. Peretz\u2019s Warsaw apartment, to about a half-century later, in the twilight of Asch\u2019s life. In between, Paula Vogel introduces us to episodes\u2014some historically based, others invented\u2014that allow her to use the journeys taken by the play and its creator to explore broader questions of the art of theatre, the fate of Yiddish culture, and the marginalization of persecuted minorities, whether by virtue of their religion or their sexuality.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The action in\u00a0<\/em>Indecent\u00a0is formed by a troupe whose members take on multiple roles over the course of the play. Throughout the play, text (presented on title slides, comparable to those seen in silent movies) is protected on the back wall of the theatre, indicating locations, characters, the language the characters are speaking at any given moment, and other key information.]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

For a while, I had wanted to wend in the stone metaphor from the first scene in which [I.L.] Peretz<\/a> turns to the young Sholem Asch<\/a> in the study and tells him: This play (God of Vengeance<\/a><\/em>) is a stone. If you must throw stones, throw them outside the tent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so when Lemml decides to leave America after the verdict in the obscenity trial<\/a>, People v. God of Vengeance<\/em>, we had the following scene:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(I cut the scene after a few drafts. It did not move us forward towards the end of the play. But I am very fond of the visual motive of stones in the suitcase.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

(The troupe becomes a well-fed American audience in the Catskills. We would never know there\u2019s a war going on thousands of miles away. Two women sing. As our song birds warble, Lemml continues his trek. It\u2019s a long, heavy, slow journey. His arms ache from the larger suitcase. He can barely lift it. He drags it part way. Puzzled, he opens the suitcase. It is filled with stones. He dumps out a small pole of stones onto the stage. Closes the suitcase. It\u2019s much lighter. He continues on his way.)<\/em>TITLE: THE BAGELMAN SISTERS SING
\u201cBEI MIR BISTU SHEIN\u201d
SOMEWHERE IN THE CATSKILLS
1943<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of all the boys I\u2019ve known and I\u2019ve known some
Until I first met you I was lonesome
And when you came in sight, dear, my heart grew light
And this old world seemed new to me.
You\u2019re really sweet I have to admit you
Deserve expressions that really fit you
And so I\u2019ve racked my brain, hoping to explain
All the things that you do to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bei mir bistu shein, please let me explain,
Bei mir bistu shein means that you\u2019re grand.
Bei mir bistu shein, again I\u2019ll explain
It means you\u2019re the fairest in the land\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(The Bagelman sisters continue to sing. Another part of the stage:)<\/em>TITLE: Selected Words of Sholem Asch<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • THE GOD OF VENGEANCE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • MOTKE THE THIEF<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • UNCLE MOSES<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • KIDUSH HA-SHEM<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • THE WITCH OF CASTILE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • THE MOTHER<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • KAYN AMERIKE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • THREE CITIES<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • THE SAYER OF PSALMS<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • SONG OF THE VALLEY<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • THE NAZARENE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • MARY<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • THE APOSTLE<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n
    \n
    \"\"
    (l-r): Max Gordon Moore as Sholem Asch and Adina Verson as Magda Asch in\u00a0Indecent<\/em>\u00a0by Paula Vogel, co-created by Paula Vogel and Rebecca Taichman, and directed by Rebecca Taichman, at the Cost Theatre, 138 West 48th Street. (c) Carol Rosegg.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    TITLE: Sholem and Magda Asch walk on the beach in Florida
    1943<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    (The eminent man of world literature walks, savoring every breath of salt. Magda walks too, but her anxious eyes are on her husband. The pause a moment. Sholem inhales deeply. The following is spoken in Yiddish; here in translation.)<\/em>
    ASCH<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You\u2019re right. This is what I needed. To get away with you.
    MAGDA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Some perspective. (They continue to walk. A man passes them in the other directions. He stops.)<\/em>
    MAN<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Hey. Hey-you\u2019re Sholem Asch, right? The writer? (He may be coming up to them for an autograph.)<\/em>
    ASCH<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Excuse me\u2026I am enjoying the day. I hope you do, too. (The Asches continue; the man stops them again.)<\/em>
    MAN<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Answer my question: are you Sholem Asch?MAGDA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Please, we deserve our privacy.ASCH<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Don\u2019t talk to him. Keep walking.MAN<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Hey! It\u2019s the Jew-hater, Sholem Asch! The man who sucks up to Christians?! Gracing us with his presence, walking among the Jews of Florida\u2013 (Asch grips Magda\u2019s elbow.)<\/em>ASCH<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Just walk on the beach back to our hotel\u2013MAN<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    (The man shouts a torrent of hateful Yiddish expletives that will not be translated. He comes upon the piles of stones left on stage. He picks up one and hurls it. He misses. Asch tries to shield his wife as best he can. The man stands defiant.)<\/em>ASCH<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! I am walking with my wife! (Magda eludes Sholem\u2019s grasp and confronts the Man.)<\/em>MAGDA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You! You call yourself a Jew? Throwing stones at another Jew! And you accuse my husband of being an Apostate? Oh, you don\u2019t know what that word means? You only speak Yiddish of the gutter! Of the streets! Take one more step towards my husband and I will take this stone and wash your mouth out with it! You don\u2019t deserve to occupy the same space!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    (The Man leaves. Magda turns to her distraught husband; they hurry away together.)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    An outtake from the play Indecent<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":1097,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[47,19,35,40,41,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-1918-1945","category-north-america","category-places-of-performances","category-theatre-troupes","category-women-in-yiddish-theatre","category-writers"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Stones Outtake - Digital Yiddish Theatre Project<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/the-stones-outtake\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Stones Outtake\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An outtake from the play Indecent\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/the-stones-outtake\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Digital Yiddish Theatre Project\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-04-18T16:30:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-04T16:30:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/05\/indecent-fb.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"315\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeremy A Streich\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jeremy A Streich\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/yiddish-stage\\\/the-stones-outtake\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/yiddish-stage\\\/the-stones-outtake\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jeremy A Streich\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/yiddish-stage\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/acb308ee9146d2d003cc0dfb2a5f08f9\"},\"headline\":\"The Stones Outtake\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-04-18T16:30:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-04T16:30:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/yiddish-stage\\\/the-stones-outtake\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":927,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/yiddish-stage\\\/the-stones-outtake\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/yiddish-stage\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/562\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/indecent-fb.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"1918-1945\",\"North America\",\"Places of Performances\",\"Theatre Troupes\",\"Women in Yiddish Theatre\",\"Writers\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/yiddish-stage\\\/the-stones-outtake\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/yiddish-stage\\\/the-stones-outtake\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Stones Outtake - 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