| Clarence Darrow | |
|---|---|
| Born | Clarence Seward DarrowApril 18, 1857 Farmdale, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | March 13, 1938 (aged 80) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Allegheny College University of Michigan |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
Written in Yiddish in 1906, “The God of Vengeance” follows Yekel, a Jewish brothel keeper, and his wife as they strive to protect the innocence of their young daughter.
When the play finally did make its Broadway debut at the Apollo Theatre in 1923, it was precisely the content that led to the trial of the show’s 12 actors and producer. Maurice Goldberg. [Rudolph Schildkraut in “God of Vengeance”]. 1923. Collection on Yiddish Theater, Museum of the City of New York. 30.170.4B
A bound handwritten Yiddish manuscript of Sholem Asch’s “The God of Vengeance” is housed at the Beinecke Library. Written in Yiddish in 1906, “The God of Vengeance” follows Yekel, a Jewish brothel keeper, and his wife as they strive to protect the innocence of their young daughter.
The show’s producer, Harry Weinberger, served as the defense lawyer for himself and the actors. When the verdict of guilty came down on May 23, 1923, he rallied the theatrical community against the obscenity charges, producing the pamphlet pictured below.
It was written by Pulitzer Prize-winner Paula Vogel, the Yale Rep’s playwright in residence, and created with Rebecca Taichman, a 2000 graduate of the Yale School of Drama, ...
On March 6, 1923, the cast and producer of the Broadway debut of Sholem Asch’s “The God of Vengeance” were arrested on obscenity charges. The producer, Harry Weinberger, and the 12-member cast pleaded not guilty to the crime of “unlawfully advertising, giving, presenting, and participating in an obscene, indecent, immoral, ...
After winning his appeal in the New York State Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, Weinberger wrote to Baldwin to point out that the case was not a hopeless one — as the ACLU had determined — and invited the organization to cover his legal expenses after the fact.
Harry Weinberger’s papers are housed at Manuscripts and Archives at the Yale Library, and the papers of playwright Sholem Asch are housed at the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Taichman explored both archives and a trial transcript she found at Lillian Goldman Law Library while researching her thesis project, “The People vs.
Weinberger published this pamphlet of testimonials from prominent rabbis and scholars defending the play against charges of obscenity and immorality. Weinberger solicited support from journalists and writers, including H.L. Mencken, who advises him to tread lightly when attempting to persuade judges.
Weinberger defended several controversial clients. Aside from his years counseling Emma Goldman, he also handled the case of Grover Cleveland Bergdoll, who fled to Germany after dodging the draft during World War I. The U.S. Supreme Court considered his case, Abrams v. United States, challenging the Espionage Act of 1917. Though the majority sided against Weinberger’s clients, who had printed leaflets supporting the Russian Revolution, the case prompted a highly influential dissent by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes supporting free speech rights.
Weinberger appealed the conviction. Weinberger was a fierce and experienced advocate who had defended the principle of free speech before the U.S. Supreme Court. His papers document the legal battle, which was waged both in the courts and in the court of public opinion.
New Yiddish Rep revives Sholem Asch’s controversial drama, which ran on Broadway in 1923 and inspired the new Paula Vogel play “Indecent.” In Yiddish, with English supertitles.
This show has a glitzy-sounding distinction: it’s the first new musical to première in New York City this year. Nonetheless, it’s a kind of anti-spectacle.
How to write a political play? This show, presented by Fault Line Theatre, at the Paradise Factory, and written by Alix Sobler—who also stars, anxiously, as the Playwright—reveals just how fraught and difficult the job is, especially if you think politics depends on truth.
In our e-mail-addled world, it’s refreshing—and also somewhat surreal—to fumble through this touching dramedy of letters.
In Neal Brennan’s 2016 show “3 Mics,” the comedian divided his material into sections—one-liners, “emotional stuff” (as he put it), and standup—each performed behind a dedicated microphone.
Bubbles of grace rise to the surface in this new adaptation of Jane Austen’s final novel, thanks largely to delightful comic turns from Annabel Capper, as Lady Russell, and from Caroline Grogan and Claire Hsu, as the sisters Henrietta and Louisa Musgrove.
Wallace Shawn’s unrelenting 1990 monologue, performed here by Lili Taylor and directed by Scott Elliott, tells the story, perhaps, of one privileged New Yorker’s destabilizing encounter with Marxism, centering on a night of illness in “a strange hotel room in a poor country where my language isn't spoken.” The structure is more spiral than narrative, circling around the same ideas in ever tighter loops, each turn in the monologuist’s critique an increasingly direct attack on an audience presumed to be likewise privileged.
When the play finally did make its Broadway debut at the Apollo Theatre in 1923, it was precisely the content that led to the trial of the show’s 12 actors and producer. Maurice Goldberg. [Rudolph Schildkraut in “God of Vengeance”]. 1923. Collection on Yiddish Theater, Museum of the City of New York. 30.170.4B.
Before the verdict was even decided, the show had moved to the Prospect Theatre in the Bronx. It seems that despite potential imprisonment, the show must go on. Like this: Like.
Rather, the judge is said to have resented what he perceived as the “desecration of the sacred scrolls of the Torah.”. Though the play’s actors and producer had been found guilty of giving an immoral performance, the sentences were very light. Only Weinberger and Sc hildkraut were fined, $200 each. The rest were released on suspended sentence.
From the beginning there was controversy. The play’s depiction of the lesbian relationship between Yankl’s daughter and one of the prostitutes in his brothel caused a flurry of activity in the Yiddish press. There was concern that the play’s content would trigger anti-Semitic backlash if it became known to the wider English-speaking world.
Only Weinberger and Sc hildkraut were fined, $200 each. The rest were released on suspended sentence. Weinberger donated materials related to the play and trial to the Museum, including two appellants’ briefs.
The transfer uptown occurred in February. The play was open on Broadway for a just under a month when the indictment came down. The show’s producer, Harry Weinberger, served as the defense lawyer for himself and the actors.
The play is Sholom Asch’s Got fun nekome or, in English, God of Vengeance. Written in Yiddish in 1906, a New York production premiered the following year starring David Kessler as the father, Yankl Tshaptshovitsh. From the beginning there was controversy.