PITTSBURGH — “Indecent,” Paula Vogel’s Tony Award-nominated play, will have its Pittsburgh premiere April 18-May 19 at the O’Reilly Theater.

Presented by Pittsburgh Public Theater, the play will be directed by Risa Brainin, a Carnegie Mellon University graduate.

In “Indecent,” an ensemble of 10 actors and musicians follows the trajectory of Sholem Asch’s controversial God of Vengeance, the first play by a Jewish playwright to open on Broadway. It was created in 1906 when the Yiddish writer was 26 years old. As “Indecent” theatrically moves through time from Warsaw to Berlin, St. Petersburg to Constantinople, Bratislava to New York, brief scenes from “God of Vengeance” are performed and help tell the story of a Jewish brothel owner who uses his profits to arrange a marriage for his daughter, until she falls in love with one of his prostitutes.

“God of Vengeance,” which sketches the romance of these two young women and features a luminous scene of them dancing in an onstage rain, is a hit in Europe. But when it arrives on Broadway in 1923, the entire cast is arrested for obscenity. Writing from varied points of view and with a lot of humor, Vogel relates the impact this revolutionary play has on its stage manager, Lemml (Maury Ginsberg), acting troupe and the audiences who witness it.

In addition to Ginsberg, actors playing multiple roles are Emily Daly, Laurie Klatscher, Meg Pryor, Robert Tendy, Ricardo Vila-Roger and Robert Zukerman. The musicians are Pittsburgh’s own Janice Coppola, Erikka Walsh (“Once”) and Spiff Wiegand (who toured with War Horse). Emmy and Grammy-winning John McDaniel is the music director. The design team includes Narelle Sissons (scenic), Devon Painter (costumes), Michael Klaers (lighting), and Zach Moore (sound and projections.) Mariel Greenlee is the choreographer, John McManus is the dialect coach, casting is by Pat McCorkle, Billie Stouter is the assistant director, Pamela Brusoski is the stage manager and Phill Madore is the assistant stage manager.

Vogel’s play “How I Learned to Drive” received the Pulitzer Prize. “Indecent” opened on Broadway in April 2017 and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play. Her other plays include “The Long Christmas Ride Home,” “The Mineola Twins,” “The Baltimore Waltz,” “Hot ‘N’ Throbbing,” “Desdemona,” “And Baby Makes Seven,” “The Oldest Profession,” “A Civil War Christmas” and “Don Juan Comes Home from Iraq.” Among numerous other honors, she received the OBIE Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Several special for ticket-holders are planned, including a discussion by Eric Lidji, director of the Rauh Jewish History Program and Archives at the Heinz History Center, titled “Behind the Scenes of the Fascinating, True History of Yiddish Theater in Pittsburgh,” that will be presented after the 2 p.m. performance on April 28.

Three pre-show opportunities to hear Klezmer music in the theater’s second-floor Pub, all beginning at 6:45 p.m., will include:

¯ May 3: Blacksea Klez with Lynette Garlan (accordian), Kevin Danchik (percussion), Phil Vanouse (tuba and trombone), Mark Poloka (clarinet and sax) and Jim Rumbaugh (clarinet.)

¯ May 10: KleZlectic with Janice Coppola (clarinet), Laura Daniels (keyboard) and Roger Day (tuba.)