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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. When Virginia says that she cannot breathe when she looks at Dorothee, how does Lemml respond?

2. What does Yekel do with the Torah scroll instead of throwing it on the ground?

3. What does Asch admit to the cast at their first meeting?

4. Who does Silverman blame for the Jewish underground prostitution ring?

5. What is Sholem's response to Madje when she says they need to go to court?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Schildkraut fire Reina?

2. In 1923: Opening Night on Broadway, Intermission, why are the Aschs shocked?

3. How does Freida respond when Lemml calls Asch a genius? What is Lemml's response to her?

4. What takes place in Cast and Producer Arrested for Obscenity?

5. What does Virginia say that shocks Dorothee?

6. What does Madje ask Sholem in this section about why the authorities might stop the show?

7. How do both Madje and Sholem feel about his trip abroad to learn more about the pogroms?

8. What is Rabbi Silverman's response regarding plays like The God of Vengeance?

9. What is Rabbi Silverman's beliefs regarding the underground Jewish prostitution ring?

10. Who bails the cast out of jail?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When Lemml arrives in Staten Island, he refuses to cross the Asch home shvel, or threshold. Why? How is a threshold important in other parts of the play? Why might the playwright choose to give such importance to a home’s threshold?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout much of the play the same sections of The God of Vengeance is performed. Why might the playwright choose to repeat the dialogue? How does this repetition affect the reader or audience member? Does the reader’s or audience member’s attitude towards the characters or the play stay the same or change as the play Indecent unfolds? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Officer Bailie is instructed to allow The God of Vengeance performance to be completed before he arrests the cast. Why might this be? Why does he not arrest them earlier? Why is there a police presence and an arrest on Broadway but not in any previous American performances?

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