Who is Sholem Asch?

Sholem Asch is a main character in Indecent, and the author of "...Vengeance." At the beginning of Indecent, he is portrayed as young, idealistic, and determined to present his play on his terms. Over the course of Indecent's narrative, he finds himself increasingly disillusioned by theatre and by many of his fellow Jews. At Indecent's conclusion, he is portrayed as being initially reluctant to acknowledge the value and meaning of "...Vengeance," but in Indecent's final moments, he finds himself reawakened to the importance of the play and its themes. The character is based on the real-life Sholem Asch, who wrote the original version of "...Vengeance" and who experienced similar hardships to those experienced by the version of Sholem Asch in Indecent.