There was a span of 12 hours, in the last week of February, in which the Treasure Valley received 2-3 inches of snow, followed up by steady rain, and finished up with sunshine. Volatile? Yes. Out of the normal for this time of year? Not likely.
We're not here to discuss weather, however. We're here to discuss happenings around the Treasure Valley in the month of March. At the top of the list? Alley Repertory Theater's production of Indecent, by Paula Vogel. (I worked as a dramaturge for this show so I might have a little bias towards it. And to the cast and crew).
video credit: Chaz Gentry
Indecent tells the story about the controversial 1923 Broadway debut of playwright Sholem Asch’s God of Vengeance. Originally written and performed in Yiddish, God of Vengeance was a smash hit in Europe. Asch and the troupe brought the play to New York’s Lower East Side in 1923, but when it was translated into English, many nuances of the story were lost. Amid rising anti-Semitism and immigration quotas, the play was shut down and the cast was arrested for obscenity.
Asch himself was 26-years old when he wrote God of Vengeance in 1906. The play was staged all across Europe, Berlin to St. Petersburg, and was also translated in Polish, Swiss, and French, among others. It was in 1923 when this play finally found a home on Broadway, premiering at the Apollo Theater The play itself and corresponding scandal on Broadway are central to Indecent, acting as much more than simply “a play-within-a-play”. Asch’s has a penchant for exploring human sympathy and Vogel has expanded on that through not only her writing, but with selected scenes from God of Vengeance, including the very moments of the play in which parts of the Jewish community took offense to.
Directed by Buffie Main and Traven Rice, with live music from the Fleet Street Klezmer Band, Indecent has a pay-what-you-want preview on March 7 and opens March 8 running through March 17.
MARCH EVENTS TO LOOK FORWARD TO
The top of the list belongs to what is the annual descent of music, film, stories, yoga, and more upon the city of Boise. That's right, we're talking about the Treefort Music Festival.
For five days, downtown Boise is taken over by this festival. Now in its 8th year, over 400 bands will grace the stages in Boise. Throw in plenty of other activities -- from live podcasts to hanging out at Ale Fort -- and there is plenty of non-stop fun to be had.
Liz Phair, Vince Staples, and Caroline Rose are among the main stage artists. Venues across downtown are used and Tango Alpha Tango, Pure Ivy, By Fire and Sword, Wend, Cassandra Lewis and Black Bolt are just a few of the musicians you should check out.
Treefort runs from March 20 to March 24 in Boise. See their schedule for more.
The weekend prior, Off Center Dance will present their spring performance, Blur. The show runs from March 14 to March 16 at Boise Contemporary Theater.
Jimmy Buffet is also in town on March 13. But I'm sure any Parrotheads reading this were already aware.
A FEW WRITING UPDATES
To catch my act live, I'll be at the Chuckle Hut on Friday at...
Nope. Lies. I don't have a live act.
February was primarily spent on editing The Blue Gem in preparation for releasing it in paperback. The one-year anniversary of its release is nearing so I hope to have it ready by then.
The college basketball season is nearing its conclusion, meaning I've spent some time writing on March Madness.
Other projects, with a words written each week, found some love in February and will do so again in March.
Time to get to it.
Be bold. Be kind.