BWW Reviews: MY NAME IS ASHER LEV at Penguin Repertory Theatre

"I'm the parent, you're the child." "I know what's best for you." "You're bringing shame on the family." "This is not how I raised you to be." "As long as you live under my roof..." How many times did we hear these expressions when we were growing up? How many times have we said them ourselves? The rite of passage between child and parents is a universal theme. In "My Name is Asher Lev" that rite is complicated by the fact that the child is a brilliant prodigy and the family is Hasidic Jewish. Aaron Posner's adaptation of Chaim Potok's novel of a child artist on the fast track to a major career, who is in the impossible situation of being faithful to his artistic ideals and being true to his faith and his family's religious traditions, is a total joy.

The play begins slowly in somewhat didactic and predictable manner. However, the play quickly and deftly moves beyond being merely a Jewish story, to being a universal one. Young Asher learns early in life - age 13 - that he is not like the other kids. Drawing is his passion, his vocation, his calling. It is clear early on that he is helpless to resist its beckon call. His parents - predictably - are confused and unaccepting, as his art flies directly in the face of their faith. While it is hardly a groundbreaking concept, it can be a difficult line to walk for playwright, director and actor. In stories like this there is a fine line between "tortured artist" and "pretentious, self-absorbed whiner." In order to win the audience's sympathy, a delicate balance must be achieved.

In the title role, Max Wolkowitz wins over the hearts of the audience almost from the start. He delivers Asher's story first person, through usually chronological memories of his youth and coming of age as an artist. He brings warmth and charm to the role, but the character, not the performance, is a bit one-dimensional. The playwright steers well clear of any typical adolescent confusion or angst or anything of a sexual nature, keeping the character's mind firmly, completely and obsessively on his art. The one-note characterization keeps Asher a bit of a flat character. Mr. Wolkowitz transcends. His an ability to step smoothly between the role of narrator of the tale and participant in it is exceptional and adds to the depth of his characterization.

The entire cast of the play is nothing short of sensational. Asher's parents are zestfully played by Naama Potok (the daughter of the writer of the novel upon which the play is based) and Howard Pinhasik. They also play about a dozen other subordinate roles to absolute perfection. Ms. Potok is particularly strong as she reveals the pain and deferred opportunities Asher's mother faces as a woman and a wife in a strictly observant Hasidic family. She appears to have an earthquake building inside her which she continually manages to keep under wraps. Only when she finally breaks down, in a devastatingly touching prayer for her recently deceased brother, do we see the depth of her despair and loss.

Mr. Pinhasik is equally fine. As Asher's father, Aryeh, something of a traveling salesman for the Rebbe, assigned to create new yeshivas across the United States, then in Vienna, then all across Europe. The role could have quickly deteriorate into caricature if not for Mr. Pinhasik's enormously human and prideful performance. He is not an unloving father, yet he continually puts the needs of the Rebbe first, something that Asher simply cannot come to terms with. The two actors' scenes together are marvelous.

The play does some minor patter about the incompatibility between great art and money, ostensibly suggesting that anyone who does anything for money is a "whore" and a sell-out. It comes across a bit flimsy and naïve, but it never intrudes too deeply into the relationships between the characters to do any damage. Asher's mentor suggests that the opposing and divergent paths are irreconcilable, just as Asher's father earlier taught the boy that the art and the faith were irreconcilable. Still Asher manages break out and become a great and celebrated artist.

His celebrity is something he longs to share with his parents, but sadly, for a multitude of reasons, (no spoilers here!) he simply cannot. The scene where his parents finally attend one of his exhibitions is absolutely unforgettable. No words are spoken - great writing nonetheless. Great theater.

Special kudos to director Stephen Nachamie, who captures the nuances of 1950s Brooklyn and the Hasidic culture so tastefully and sensitively. His creative team, particularly lighting designer Todd Wren, are all spot on.

Penguin Repertory has done it again. They have another winner on their hands. Two for two this season. "My Name is Asher Lev" is funny, engaging and immanently theatrical. The theater has even provided a charming glossary of all the Yiddish terms used in the play!

-Peter Danish

"My Name Is Asher Lev" is playing at the Penguin Rep Theater, 7 Crickettown Road, Stony Point. until August 2nd. For more information: 845-786-2873, penguinrep.org.

Photo Credit:Dorice A. Madronero

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