From Last Row of the
Orchestra at the Cort Theatre
(The Night I Saw Paula Vogel’s Indecent)
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| The Cort Theatre / 138 W. 48 St., NYC Photo courtesy of The Cort Tehatre |
The Producers, the Mel Brooks
original movie, was on channel 13 about a week ago. I tuned in just in time to see Zero Mostel
and Gene Wilder watching Springtime for Hitler from behind the last row of
the orchestra at the Cort Theatre. I started
thinking of all the shows I saw there.
The list grew rather lengthy. It
included Grace, Stick Fly, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, This
is Our Youth, M. Butterfly (December 17, 2017 posting on this blog),
Glenda Jackson in King Lear (April 23, 2019 posting on this blog), and
Linda Lavin in The Lyons. My
memory of shows there goes all the way back to Cherry Jones and Frances
Sternhagen in The Heiress. The one
night that stands out in my memory of shows I experienced in that hallowed hall
is when I saw the production of Indecent (April 30, 2017 posting on this blog). It was stunning. I sat in the last row of the orchestra, house
right, third seat from the side aisle. That
seat is not the most comfortable and does not offer the best view of the
stage. If you ever sat in the last row
of the orchestra at the Cort Theatre, you probably know what I’m talking
about. I felt like I needed a booster
seat, and the overhang from the mezzanine seems really low. Since I usually get my tickets on TDF, I often
sit in last row. I am very grateful for
that discount, which affords me to see as much theatre as I do (or did). I remember occupying that very same seat at
the Cort Theatre a few times. Once the
show starts and I engage, I usually surrender to the elements and connect with
the performance. However, when I saw Indecent,
there was another challenge I faced from the last row.
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| Photo courtesy of Indecent |
The night I saw Indecent, the couple in front
of me was on a date. Not necessarily a
first date, but definitely an early in their relationship date. As soon as the show started, the man put his
arm around the woman’s shoulder, sat close to her, and leaned his head against
hers, blocking my already slumped view, claustrophobic from the mezzanine overhang. I am not the type of person to tap a stranger
in front of me on the shoulder and disturb their theatre experience. I am, however, the type of person who writes
about it on their theatre blog sometime in the future (meaning now). I doubt they will be reading this, and if they
do, won’t recognize themselves. In my
vengeful imagination, they broke up after the show. I spent the evening shifting my focus from over
their joined heads, to the right side of their joined head, then the left, and
sometimes, when the stage positioning allowed, to the small open space under
their lightly touching ears. Remember, I
was already slumped down. The total
effect of the powerful images by director Rebecca Taichman was enthralling. Paula Vogel’s sweeping dialogue was
encompassing. The production left a very
strong impression on me, no matter how hard I had to work to be emotionally
engaging because of the challenges. My
blog post here on April 30, 2017 focused on that, and did not reflect my
discomfort.
My reading list of plays during this coronavirus
lockdown seems to get longer every week. Reading the works
of one master playwright seems to open up inquiry into another. My list originally included a number of plays
written by Donald Margulies, including his version of The God of Vengeance. I found his adaptation of Sholem Asch’s
original play, which is the inspiration for the story of Indecent, to be
powerful and intriguing. Since Paula Vogel’s
play does not re-tell the story of The God of Vengeance, I decided to read
her play with my newfound understanding of the full story. I thought it would be interesting to see if
my reaction would be different, and I figured reading the play would also fill
in any gaps I might have missed while dodging the couple’s heads in front of me.
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| The Broadway production of Indecent at the Cort Theatre Photo courtesy of Indecent |
A close read of a play always gives me a strong
appreciation for the intention of playwriting, and my read of Indecent
was no exception. Paula Vogel crafted a strong
work that is a testament to what she states in the introduction to the
published play. “There are storied
collaborations in the American Theater, writer/director collaborations that
over years result in plays that remain vivid on the page.” Indecent is definitely one of those
plays. Her scenes develop with a fierce
focus on the desires of the characters. The overarching action evolves out of these
moments. The characters are driven by
their deep need to communicate the truths of their experiences. This comes strongly into conflict with the norms of the society in which they long to assimilate. In all her plays Paula Vogel takes her
audience on a journey that exceeds any expectation. Her collaboration with director Rebecca
Taichman on Indecent supersedes the high bar she sets for herself and
her audience in any of her previous work.
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| Zero Mostel & Gene Wilder behind the last row of the orchestra at the Cort Tehatre Photo courtesy of The Producers |
Toward the end of Indecent, one of the
characters makes a powerful statement about the theatre experience. “…the play belongs to the people who labor in
it! And the audience who put aside the
time to be there in person!” This line
rings with extra veracity in this time of the pandemic shutdowns. I look very much forward to the return of
live theatre so I can belong in that way again.
I would be willing to pay three times the ticket price for that seat in
the last row of the Cort Theatre, house right, third seat from the side aisle,
slumped down and claustrophobic from the mezzanine overhang. I’d even pay that price to stand where Zero
Mostel and Gene Wilder stood just to engage in a live theatre experience. It is worth any effort it takes to commune
with an audience, even dodging head of a couple seated in front of me. I look forward to that return. I look forward to seeing you there!
Domenick Danza
