Paula Vogel’s INDECENT Opens Theater Latté Da’s 2026/27 Season

Theater Latté DA - INDECENT - 2026

(MINNEAPOLIS/ST PAUL) Theater Latté Da (Justin Lucero, Artistic Director; Elisa Spencer-Kaplan, Managing Director) announces the single ticket on-sale of its first production of the 2026/27 Season, Indecent, by Paula Vogel, with a score and original music by Lisa Gutkin & Aaron Halva. The production’s official opening will take place on Saturday, September 19 at 7:30 p.m., with previews beginning on Wednesday, September 16. Performances take place at the historic Ritz Theater, 345 13th Ave. NE, Minneapolis; the permanent home of Theater Latté Da.

"As I envisioned this season, I kept returning to works that ask what happens when art confronts the forces that seek to silence it. Indecent is not only a remarkable theatrical achievement, it is a reminder that artists have always helped societies wrestle with questions of identity, belonging, and freedom. It opens our season with exactly the kind of conversation we hope to inspire," states Latté Da Artistic Director, Justin Lucero.

Indecent is a play about a play—and the artists who risked everything to tell it. Inspired by the true story of Sholem Asch’s seminal Yiddish work, God of Vengeance, and its infamous 1923 obscenity trial, Indecent is a haunting, klezmer-infused play with music that traces the turbulent journey of a troupe determined to stage a work deemed “indecent.” As their story unfolds across continents and decades, so too does a powerful meditation on censorship, nationalism and the policing of queer love. At once tender and thunderously relevant, this breathtaking theatrical experience shines a light on the enduring struggle between artistic expression and societal control. In a moment when questions of whose stories are “acceptable” feel increasingly urgent, Indecent invites us to bear witness to the courage of artists, the cost of silence and the unshakable power of theater itself.

"There are few plays that feel as urgently necessary today as Indecent,” states Lucero. “It is a breathtaking work about artists who refuse to let fear dictate what can be imagined, expressed, or shared. At a moment when conversations around censorship and cultural memory continue to shape our public life, this play reminds us that the freedom to create is never guaranteed... it is something every generation must actively protect."

Indecent is directed by Pirronne Yousefzadeh. Music direction is by Spencer Chandler and movement direction by Emily Michaels King. The design team includes scenic and costume designer Sarah Bahr, lighting designer Søren Olsen, sound & projections designer Peter Morrow, props designer Madelaine Foster, hair and makeup designer Emma Gustafson and dialect coach Spencer Chandler. Shelby Reddig is production stage manager and Austin Schoenfelder is assistant stage manager.

Theater Latté Da’s 2026/27 season invites audiences to engage with the complexities of the present moment through five powerful works that challenge silence, celebrate resilience, and honor the transformative power of shared experience, starting with Paula Vogel’s Indecent, a klezmer-infused play tracing the 1923 obscenity trial of God of Vengeance and the artists who defied censorship. The lineup continues with the beloved holiday tradition All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914, which recreates the miraculous World War I ceasefire through stirring a cappella harmonies drawn from soldiers’ letters in its Drama Desk Award-winning production, followed by Justin Huertas’s indie-rock musical Lizard Boy in a Midwest premiere that transforms comic book mythology into a heartfelt tale of queer self-acceptance. The season also features the world premiere of She’s Come Undone, adapting Wally Lamb’s bestselling novel into a sweeping journey of trauma and healing, and closes with a collaboration with the University of Minnesota on the Tony Award®-winning Spring Awakening, which, through its electrifying rock score, examines the volatile coming-of-age experiences of youth in a repressive society. Together, these productions form a season of curiosity, conviction and care, reminding us that theater is not just a reflection of who we are, but a catalyst for who we might become.

TICKETS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS AT LATTÉ DA

Tickets for Indecent are currently available for purchase, starting at $39. Additionally, season subscriptions are available for purchase for the entire 2026/27 season, offering a wide range of discounts, subscriber-only perks and show packages for every schedule. Pricing and additional details available at www.LatteDa.org.

Tickets, subscriptions and FLEXPacks may be purchased online, by calling the Box Office at 612-339-3003, or in person at the Ritz Theater, 345 13th Ave NE, Minneapolis. Box Office hours are from 12 - 5 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, and from 12 - 5 p.m. on Saturdays during performance days only.

A range of discounted attendance opportunities and physical access initiatives are offered for every production to ensure a welcoming experience for patrons of all backgrounds. Access offerings include ASL interpretation, open captioning and audio description at select performances, and services including braille and large-print programs, assistive listening devices, multiple accessible seating choices, wheelchair companion seating, bariatric chairs and physically accessible all-gender restrooms are available for every performance.

ABOUT PAULA VOGEL

Paula Vogel is a Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatist celebrated for her fearless exploration of identity, history and the human condition. Her landmark play, How I Learned to Drive, earned her the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, cementing her reputation as a vital voice in American theater. Vogel’s work often challenges societal norms while illuminating the complexities of love, trauma and resilience. A former chair of the Playwriting Program at Brown University and a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, she has received numerous honors, including the William Inge Theatre Festival’s Innovation Award and the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Vogel’s writing is known for its lyrical intensity, structural ingenuity, and unflinching compassion for those on the margins.

ABOUT THEATER LATTÉ DA

Theater Latté Da creates new and impactful connections between story, music, artist and audience—exploring and expanding the art of music theater. Opening its 29th season of presenting new and reimagined music theater, Theater Latté Da is the leading nonprofit professional theater in Minnesota that exclusively produces music theater. Some 40,000 people engage with Latté Da each season through four to five full productions, the NEXT Festival of New Musicals, special events and concerts, and a broad range of opportunities for music theater composers, lyricists and librettists to advance the creation of their new works. Since 2016, Theater Latté Da has made its permanent home in Northeast Minneapolis’s historic Ritz Theater, enabling uniquely intimate arts experiences for audience members.

The company has presented over 100 mainstage productions, including 19 world premieres and 19 area premieres. Each has garnered critical acclaim and earned its artists and the organization a host of awards and honors, including: seven IVEY Awards for overall excellence, multiple grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Gabriel Award for Broadcast Excellence, the American Theater Wing National Theater Company Award, and the 2019 Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience for its Off-Broadway production of All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914. Learn more at www.latteda.org.

Theater Latté Da’s 2026/27 season is made possible in part by Actor’s Equity Foundation, Ameriprise Financial, The Boss Foundation, Civis Foundation, Elizabeth C. Quinlan Foundation, James B. Linsmayer Foundation, McKnight Foundation, The National Alliance for Musical Theatre, National Endowment for the Arts, The Nara Fund, PNC Bank Foundation, RBC Foundation, The Ruth Easton Fund of the Edelstein Family Foundation, The Shubert Foundation; the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund; and numerous generous individual contributors. 2026/27 Production Sponsors include Tom and Julianne Youngren for All Is Calm and Dr. Tom Knabel and Kent Allin for Spring Awakening. Cara Sjodin and Scott Stensrud are Production Partners for Spring Awakening.

PERFORMANCE DETAILS

CREATIVE TEAM

Pirronne Yousefzadeh – Director
Alyx Blackwell Kinney – Assistant Director
Spencer Chandler – Music Director
Emily Michaels King – Movement Director
Sarah Bahr – Scenic Designer
Jacelyn Stewart – Assistant Scenic Designer
Sarah Bahr - Costume Designer
Søren Olsen - Lighting Designer
Peter Morrow – Sound Designer
Peter Morrow – Projections Designer
Madelaine Foster – Props Designer & Supervisor
Emma Gustafson – Wigs, Hair & Makeup Designer
Spencer Chandler – Dialect Coach
Emily Michaels King – Intimacy Director
Shelby Reddig* – Production Stage Manager
Austin Schoenfelder* – Assistant Stage Manager

KEY DATES (complete list at www.LatteDa.org)

Previews – September 16-18, 7:30 PM
Opening Night – September 19, 7:30 PM
Open Captioned – October 16 & 17, 7:30 PM; October 17 & 18, 2:00 PM
American Sign Language & Audio Described – October 15, 7:30 PM

POST-SHOW TALKBACKS

Thursday, 7:30 PM: September 24; October 1, 8 & 15
Sunday, 2:00 PM: September 20 & 27; October 4 & 11