Review: MY NAME IS ASHER LEV Elegantly Examines Crossroads of Art, Religion

For millennia, both art and religion have been the focus of some of the theater's best work's, however, rarely has one play combined and commented on both as elegantly as Mad Cow Theatre's stirring production of Aaron Posner's MY NAME IS ASHER LEV, running through December 6th. This riveting work, directed by Mark Edward Smith, follows the artistic and religious journey of Hasidic Jew Asher Lev (played by Michael Frishman) from the confusion of a conflicted child prodigy to the personal torment of an artistic genius.

Frishman is compelling in the titular role. While never leaving the stage during this 90-minute memory play, he artfully takes the audience inside the mind of a genius struggling to justify the two seemingly conflicting truths of his life, his G-d-given gift and his dedication to his family and faith. Playing the artist throughout his life, Frishman humanizes the pains, frustrations, and exhilarations that often torment great artists, and, in turn, lead to great art. While Frishman is often quite powerful, it always feels as if he is on the verge of a revelatory break-through that unfortunately never comes.

Brian Brightman plays all of the show's other male roles, but he is most spectacular as Asher's devout father, Aryeh, and Asher's non-observant artistic mentor, Jacob Kahn. In these two roles, Brightman personifies the internal conflict pulling Asher in two separate directions; religion and art. Asher's father travels the world spreading the Jewish faith, but struggles to reconcile how his own son practices at home. Aryeh views his son's passion for art as a distraction from living a religious life, while Kahn views his pupil's passion for art as a religion all its own. While Brightman expertly performs both roles, he does so with a seemingly stronger affection and sympathy for Kahn. However, this doesn't interfere with his genuinely heartfelt approach to both characters, which results in performances that never comment on either man, but instead allow the audience to fully appreciate each for the uniquely convicted men that they are.

The final member of this three-person ensemble is Sara Oliva, who primarily plays Asher's mother, Rivkeh. Often the peacekeeper between her husband and son, Rivkeh's anguish, exacerbated by the tragic death of her brother, is palpable in Oliva's performance. Rivkeh's journey is one that sees her battle loneliness, depression, and a motherly struggle to accept a son that she doesn't understand. This lack of understanding forces Oliva's Rivkeh to align far more easily with her husband than I think the text would actually indicate.

While all three of the show's actors are breath-taking in their roles, the true star is Posner's beautiful script (adapted from Chaim Potok's 1972 classic coming-of-age novel of the same name). The story is told with such honesty, an important lesson that Asher learns from Kahn, that the audience's hearts break right along with those of the Lev family.

Rob Wolin's simple, evocative set comprised nearly completely of white canvases transforms the utilitarian Zehngebot-Stonerock theatre into a world surrounded by potential creation. Unfortunately, the rest of the design is not as inspired. Waylon Lemasters' sound design is a bit too melodramatic and distracting, undermining the rest of the show's intimate appeal, and Eric Haugen's busy lighting design unnecessarily attempts to differentiate between sections of the episodic script.

The first, exposition-heavy half of the show is played at much lower stakes, but the second half provides plenty of emotional resonance to compensate. Ultimately, MY NAME IS ASHER LEV is a powerfully personal story that should feel familiar to anyone who has ever battled to rectify two halves of his or her personality that otherwise should never coexist.

To purchase tickets to Mad Cow Theatre's wonderful production of MY NAME IS ASHER LEV, visit their website or call 407-297-8788. The show runs 90-minutes with no intermission and features brief nudity in the context of an artist's model.

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Banner Photo Credit: Tom Hurst | Mad Cow Theatre

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