My Name is Asher Lev
by Aaron Posner
Adapted From the Novel by Chaim Potok
Directed by Aaron Sparks
New Jewish Theatre
January 23, 2020
Spencer Sickmann
Photo by Jon Gitchoff
New Jewish Theatre
New Jewish Theatre’s latest production is a compelling showcase for excellent local actors. It’s also a fascinating look at one person’s struggle to find his place in two different worlds that seem at odds with one another. My Name is Asher Lev is a well-structured, almost poetic look at an artist’s journey of self-discovery, and his relationship with his art, his faith, his family, and the world around him.
Based on Chaim Potok’s celebrated novel, this play’s subject matter is fairly straightforward. It’s titled after its main character, Asher Lev (Spencer Sickmann), a controversial painter who has been making waves in the art world. Asher narrates the story, in fact, which focuses on his growing up in a Hasidic Jewish family in Brooklyn. As he discovers his talent and his constant need to draw the world as he sees it, Asher often finds himself at odds with his parents and with the rest of his community. The structure of the play has all the supporting male characters played by one actor (Chuck Winning), and the women played by another (Amy Loui). The most important figures in Asher’s life are his parents–his strict, zealous father and his devoted, academically inclined mother. As Asher’s skills as an artist become apparent, as well as his determination to persist in expressing his talent, the Rebbe (the community and religious leader) arranges for Asher to study with Jacob, a non-Hasidic Jewish artist who introduces Asher to new styles and forms of art, including nudes, which further disturbs Asher’s parents. He also develops a fascination with images of crucifixions, challenging his parents’ strict belief system while maintaining his own faith, despite his gradual exposure to secular influences in the art world. Asher is torn between two worlds, becoming something of an outsider in both, as he embarks on an artistic career that challenges convention in both of these spheres. It’s a fascinating play, exploring several compelling concepts as personified by Asher, a man who is compelled to exercise his talent but also to remain true to his faith, or least the best he can.
The story here is one of relationships and complex characters, embodied with great charm and expertise by the excellent Sickmann as Asher, as well as by the equally strong–and commendably versatile–Winning and Loui. Sickmann takes the audience along on his artistic journey in a remarkably compelling way, and the strong ensemble chemistry between Sickmann, Winning, and Loui also adds to the appeal of the production. It’s a tour-de-force for Sickmann, especially. This piece is named for Asher Lev and Sickmann makes the character intriguing and unforgettable.
The set and lighting by Rob Lippert work especially well here, with a unit set backed by Kareem Deanes’s projections and a distinctive atmosphere that adds to the storytelling. There are also excellent costumes by Michele Friedman Siler and sound by Deanes. The staging is well-paced and flows especially well, as Asher takes the audience with him on his personal journey.
My Name is Asher Lev is at once compelling, dramatic, touching, and thought-provoking. It’s about one man and his relationships with the people and world around him, but there are some universal themes here with which many in the audience can relate. The process of a person’s growing up and finding their own identity separate from their parents’ expectations, as well as the struggle to find meaning in life and to best use one’s gifts and talents, are all relatable issues. Here on stage at the New Jewish Theatre, this story is a profound, fascinating, and especially well-portrayed tale. Asher Lev is a remarkable character, well worth meeting.
Spencer Sickmann, Chuck Winning
Photo by Jon Gitchoff
New Jewish Theatre
New Jewish Theatre is presenting My Name is Asher Lev at the Marvin & Harlene Wool Studio Theatre at the JCC’s Staenberg Family Complex until February 9, 2020
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