[NEohioPAL] Berko review: THE CHOSEN (Cleveland Play House) 11/6

[Roy Berko]

Play House’s ‘THE CHOSEN’—a thought provoking, near
perfect production

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times

On stage, at the start of ‘THE CHOSEN,’ now being
performed at the Cleveland Play House, are two desks,
each in its own pool of light.  A volume of the same
book lies on each desk.  Two scholars scan the books. 
Though they live but five blocks away, they live in
different worlds and the wisdom and insights they gain
from reading THE TALMUD (the book of rabbinic
commentary pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs,
and history) is also totally different.

Set in 1944, writers Aaron Posner and Chaim Potok use
the strife between opposing Jewish viewpoints of the
Orthodox (adherent Jews) and the Hasidim (those who
maintain the highest standard of religious observance)
to probe into the social issues of communication,
friendship and education.  The script also displays a
political underbelly, probing into the controversy of
the founding of Israel, the Holocaust and the role of
modern thinking 

Danny is the son of Reb Saunders, a Hasidic rabbi. 
Reuven comes from a more liberal Jewish family. The
two find friction, and then common ground through
baseball and a shared fervor for scholarship and
debate.  They struggle to reconcile their fathers
honed beliefs and find their own paths, separate from
those that their elders envision for them.

The concept of silence permeates the goings-on.  From
the very first word of the play ("Silence"), ‘THE
CHOSEN’ explores the difficulties, and eloquence, and
blessedness of silence.  Danny tells Reuven that "you
can listen to silence; it talks to you
 sometimes it
cries." These are the lessons taught to him by what
appears to be a distant father.  On the other hand,
Reuven's abba (father) has taught him to "learn to
listen behind the words, to that which is not spoken."
And, in the end, Reb Saunders teaches both boys that
"the heart speaks through silence." 

Potok’s book ‘THE CHOSEN’ was published in 1967.  It
was made into a movie starring Robby Benson and Rod
Steiger in 1981.  The play script was first performed
in 1999.  A musical version had an abbreviated eight
performance run off-Broadway in 1988.  Potok, who
wrote ‘THE PROMISE’ as a sequel to ‘THE CHOSEN,’ died
in 2002.

The CPH production, under the keen eye of director
Seth Gordon, is near perfection.  Local actor, George
Roth gives a sensitive, nuanced and intelligent
performance as David Malter.  Adam Richman, as the
adult Reuven Malter, the play’s narrator, involves the
audience with his comfortable and direct manner. 
Jeremy Rishe makes Young Reuven live.  He has a real
and natural manner that breathes honest life into the
role.  Andrew Pastides takes Danny from a rigid and
stiff youth through his journey to awareness with
introspective understanding.  

Though he inhabits the character of Reb Saunders,
Kenneth Albers fails to produce the cadence, rhythm
and texture of speech and gestures that permeated the
communication of older Jewish men who came from
eastern Europe.  It is a physical and verbal sound
that I heard over and over from my grandfather and his
friends.  It created them, it was them.  It gave them
taam, their flavor and essence. Albers was missing
that “taam.”  I’m not sure those unfamiliar with those
sounds and mannerisms will know that they should have
been present, but for those who are aware, it will
make a difference.
 
Michael Lincoln’s lighting design and James Swonger’s
sound design added dimension to the production. 
Michael Raiford’s set was practical and impressive
though the overuse of candles which dropped from
“heaven” became a bit much after a while.

Capsule judgement:  ‘THE CHOSEN’ is a must see
production.  Don’t be afraid that if you are not
Jewish, you will be lost in the language or the
philosophy.  The script explains all and Gordon has
paced the production so the ideas come through with
clarity.  (The program does an excellent job of
defining terms and concepts
get there early enough to
read it.)

 ‘THE CHOSEN’ runs through November 25.  For tickets
call 216-795-7000


Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2002 through 2007, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://royberko.info
      
Roy's theatre and dance reviews appear regularly on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/neohiopal.  His reviews also appear on www.coolcleveland.com

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