Living & Arts

Modern Jewish identity richly explored in “Asher Lev”

In print | February 5, 2009

National Jewish Book Award-winning author Rabbi Chaim Potok may be the only Orthodox Rabbi to have ever painted a crucifixion. But his numerous critically acclaimed writings are, perhaps, less surprising in their content. Potok’s primary focus is on the struggles of a new generation of Orthodox and Hassidic Jews trying to find a place for themselves in the modern era.

It will come as no surprise, then, that of all the characters he created in his 37-year writing career, Potok related most closely to the eponymous protagonist in his “My Name is Asher Lev,” which has been adapted into a play by Philadelphia’s Arden Theatre Company. Lev is a Hassid growing up in 1940s Brooklyn whose artistic talent puts him at odds with his conservative community. Like Potok once did, Lev finds himself painting crucifixions.

Adapted posthumously by playwright Aaron Posner in collaboration with Potok’s widow, Adena Potok, the Arden’s world premiere production of the play remains faithful both to the text and to Potok’s somewhat autobiographical relationship with the title character.

This is not the first time that Aaron Posner has adapted and directed one of Potok’s works. In 1999, Posner collaborated with the author to adapt the best known of Potok’s writings, “The Chosen.” Prior to Potok’s passing in 2002, the two had discussed the possibility of an adaptation of “My Name is Asher Lev,” but it was not until the Arden launched its new play-commissioning program in 2005 that the resources made proceeding possible.

The new production is a triumph for the Arden; it is a remarkable stand-alone production, and as the first of their commissions to have come to fruition, it is an auspicious start to what one hopes will be a lasting initiative in new play development. Posner and the Arden had a good year in 2008; the play won an Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award, a grant that provided the final set of resources needed to produce the play.

I was fortunate enough to attend the January 7th premiere, where artistic director Terry Nolen spoke with passion and pride about the struggles and triumphs that led to this moment. Also in the audience that night were a beaming Adena Potok and Aaron Posner.

Karl Miller delivers a remarkably nuanced performance of the title role and Gabra Zackman sparkles as his troubled mother, Rivkeh, and gallery owner Anna Schaeffer. Adam Heller, in the role of Asher’s father, Aryeh, doesn’t hit full stride until about a half hour into the performance, but his Jacob Kahn, the artist-mentor to Asher’s emerging career, is pitch-perfect. As the Rebbe, Heller is effective, but not particularly memorable. It is his Kahn who brings joy into the play and opens the doors for the audience to appreciate the beauty and complexity of Miller’s teenage Asher.

The relationship between Miller and Zackman, as mother and son throughout the years — Miller plays Asher from the occasional appearance as a six year old to a 19-year-old — is poetry in motion. Their love for each other is impossible to question, even as they fail to truly understand each other’s perennial internal struggle between duty and the will of the heart. When Asher finally comes to understand his mother, this understanding tears them apart and the pain of their next encounters is tangible. One can almost taste the tears that they will shed in private.

Posner’s staging is clever and inviting. One is simultaneously drawn into the small world of the family’s Brooklyn flat and occasionally rendered a voyeur through the deft placement of an empty painting frame between the audience’s line of sight and the actors. To view Asher’s art is to look into the questions and torments of his soul and to look into his home is no different, as the frames remind us when they float around the sides of the stage while the family has tea.

Swarthmore’s own James Sugg (Visiting Professor of Sound Design), an Obie and Barrymore Award-winning artist, is the Sound Designer, and Adrienne Mackey ’04, a member of the Barrymore Award-nominated ensemble of “Animal Farm,” is the Assistant Director.

“My Name is Asher Lev” is playing on the Arden Theatre’s Arcadia Stage until March 15, 2009. Free post-show discussions will be held on Feb 17th, 24th, and Mar. 3rd and 4th. On Feb. 28th and Mar. 1st, the productions will be captioned for the hearing impaired.