Though I haven't yet read
Chiam Potok's novel
My Name is Asher Lev, it's
quite easy to see why so many people over the decades since its
publication in 1972 have found it so affecting and so strong a point of
identification—because
Aaron Posner's 2009 stage adaptation,
just now arriving off-Broadway after a good deal of regional success,
does a very skilled job of dramatizing its characters and themes. It
tells the story of the title character (
Ari Brand)—more specifically Ari himself tells
us his
story; which is that of a young man who is compelledf at a very early
age to draw, to—as he will begin to underastand and articulate as he
getys older—dedicate his life to art. The problem is, he's from a
Hassidic family, and his father Aryeh (
Mark Nelson) sees drawing as a time-wasting distraction from more important studies. His mother Rivkeh (
Jenny Bacon)
understanding both sides of the equation, to some limited degree, is
torn between them. This is only the beginning of the story, which
evolves unexpectedly, if you don't know it, and becomes a study in
heartbreak and irony, as others get involved—in particular the
community's head rabbi and a renowned Jewish artist who becomes Asher's
teacher and mentor. (In addition to playing the parents, Nelson and
Bacon play all supporting roles.)
Gorden Edelstein has echoed the play's eloquent economy in his
direction, and his trio of actors find just the right timbre to convey
the message and the culture, with especial kudos to Mark Nelson, always
something of a natural force but here giving one of his most essential
performances.
Naturally the story will resonate with anyone who has ever sacrificed
comfort or family to pursue a life in the arts, but clearly it also
strikes a chord with anyone whose sense of self-definition has forced
them to break away from an expectation that they will follow a
contradictory or prohibitive tradition. And it probably strikes a chord
with those who've always wanted to and never found the nerve. And
implicitly it examines the difference between the two. Which makes it a
that can leave you uplifted or bereft or both at the same time. Drama
doesn't often get richer than that…
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