A play about censorship is censored — and free speech groups are fighting back

https://www.npr.org/2023/01/10/ [login to see] /indecent-paula-vogel-censorship
PEN America and two other free speech groups are drawing national attention to Florida county school officials' decision to cancel a play that is itself about censorship.

Last week, Duval County Public School officials canceled a production of Paula Vogel's Indecent at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. Officials said the play about a play about a love affair between two women is "inappropriate," as reported by WJCT.

PEN America, along with The National Coalition Against Censorship and the Dramatists Legal Defense Fund released a statement condemning the decision and "urged school officials to rescind their decision and work with students to stage the play as planned."

Indecent is about the controversy surrounding a 1923 Broadway production of God of Vengeance, a Yiddish play by Sholem Asch. In the story, the daughter of a Jewish brothel owner falls in love with one of her father's prostitutes. Asch's script includes a love scene between the two women. The play was a hit in Europe and New York's downtown theater scene. But once it was translated into English and performed on Broadway, the entire cast was arrested and charged with obscenity