[NEohioPAL] Review of "My Name is Asher Lev" at Cleveland Play House

Bob Abelman r.abelman at adelphia.net
Fri Mar 11 06:25:13 PST 2011


'My Name is Asher Lev' touches on genius

 

Bob Abelman

News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times Courier

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This review appeared in the News-Herald 3/18/11

 

Walk through any art museum anywhere in the world and you will find people staring.  They are lost in thought or overcome by emotion, having just witnessed creative genius.  They have seen the result of vision and inspiration colliding with talent-the divine embracing the demonic-poured onto canvas, into marble and through textiles.   

 

When in the presence of greatness, there is a tendency-an irrepressible desire, really-to get as close to these works as possible, to see what genius saw, to fill the space that genius occupied, and to share the same air as the artistic immortals. 

 

My Name is Asher Lev, a play by Aaron Posner adapted from the novel by Chaim Potok, is the theatrical equivalent of this.  In one act, on the Cleveland Play House's intimate Baxter Stage, we are afforded the opportunity to see, breath and touch genius up close and personal.

 

In fact, there are all kinds of genius on display.

 

Potok's 1972 novel explores the coming of age of Asher Lev, a young man growing up in a strict Orthodox Jewish community in post-World War II Brooklyn, New York.  He possesses  prodigious creativity matched by rare artistic vision and ability, which conflicts with his heritage and threatens his prescribed path.  

 

This story is Semitic in tone, tongue and temperament, but its themes are universal and timeless.  At the heart of this novel is the conflict between one's devotion to family, faith and community, and one's commitment to a calling.  It explores the divide between personal responsibility and personal expression.  Potok's writing is brilliant, vividly bringing to light and life worlds that are very closed and very private.  

 

This play is masterful at transporting Potok's vision and complex subject matter to the stage.  It stays true to his voice and storytelling-that is, its first-person narrative, cerebral verbiage and powerful imagery.   In the hands of a lesser craftsman, this play could be duller than dirt and an inaccurate reflection of the novel.  Posner trims and tailors in all the right places and with an eye for the visual and the theatrical.

 

The play engages the audience as Asher appears to be talking with, rather than talking at, us and it moves through Asher's maturation as a man and an artist with pace and precision. 

 

This CPH production marks the directorial debut of new Associate Artistic Director Laura Kepley and she has proven her stripes.  She is sensitive to the layers of conflict that drive this drama, but never loses sight of the personal journey that Asher and the audience are going through. 

 

All of the choices she makes, with the assistance of scenic designer Antje Ellermann (minimalistic period set pieces, art without images), lighting designer Michael Lincoln (beautifully isolated dramatic moments) and sound designer Lindsay Jones (a guiding underscore of cello), are good ones.  In fact, they are great and effectively complement the story.

 

The performances turned in by the three actors in this production are superb as well and do justice to the material.

 

Noel Joseph Allain captures Asher's genius without calling overt attention to it.  This adds texture to the character's anguish, mystery to his particular muse, and poignancy to the personal dilemmas that result from it.  Allain's Asher is believable and thoroughly intriguing.    

 

Tom Alan Robbins plays all the other male roles, including Asher's foreboding father Aryeh, his mentor Jacob Kahn, his appreciative uncle, and the senior Rabbi.  Each role is tasked with providing the playwright's abbreviated versions of Potok's weighty themes, such as religious fundamentalism and artistic honesty.  Robbins' rich portrayals fill in the occasional shortcomings in the script, when things are too abbrieviated, and are remarkably distinctive.

 

Elizabeth Raetz plays all the women in the play, but does most of the heavy lifting as Asher's mother, Rivkeh.  She is wonderful when depicting Rivkeh bearing up under the many hardships of her time, her station and her son's decisions.  She is brilliant when Rivkeh breaks under the pressure. 

 

My Name is Asher Lev is a magnificent piece of theater and should not be missed.  And stay in your seats during the production.  There will be the irrepressible desire to get closer.

 

My Name is Asher Lev continues through April 3 in The Cleveland Play House's Baxter Stage.  For tickets, which range from $46 to $66, call 216-795-7000 or visit www.clevelandplayhouse.com.
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