By Britin Haller
My Name Is Asher Lev is not for everyone, but that doesn’t mean it’s not great theater. Running this month at the West Boca Theatre Company, this play by Aaron Posner is an adaptation of the 1972 semi-autobiographical book of the same name by Chaim Potok.
Asher Lev first appears to us as a young man and introduces himself thusly. “My name is Asher Lev,” setting off a chain of snippets from his past, some with his unhappy parents, some with his mentors and supporters, and some with his rebbe (the Hasidic term for rabbi.) In between scenes, and through a series of monologues that get increasingly more heated as Asher’s story goes on, we learn more about his inner thoughts. At times, it seems as if he hears voices. Asher introduces each flashback very simply, “I was six,” “I was seven,” “I’m thirteen now preparing for my bar mitzvah.”
Spencer Landis is Asher Lev, a Brooklyn-born painter, and Hasidic Jew, who begins to exhibit tremendous artistic talent at a very early age, even drawing in his mashed potatoes. His gift is a double-edged sword. However, as his compulsion to create a certain kind of art goes against everything his religion stands for, and his ultra-pious parents do everything they can to dissuade him.
Landis takes us on an emotional roller coaster from the first moment he says “My name is Asher Lev,” to the final moment he says “My name is Asher Lev.” Landis is a phenomenal talent and asset to the South Florida theatrical community. Casting directors, take note, because Spencer Landis is everything you’d want in a handsome, young leading man. Think Freddy Eynsford-Hill in My Fair Lady handsome. Landis’ eyes sparkle and glisten (not the same) when he utters lines like “Sometimes it’s the little things that stay with you the longest.” Landis is also a songwriter and an acoustic/electric guitarist.
Despite terrific acting all around, this is Landis’s show, and the rest are merely players. At some point, when we realize Landis never leaves the stage, the moment has lasting impact when he says that opening line at the end of the play as well. In lesser hands, My Name Is Asher Lev might become rote, and certainly would not have the impact it did, because Landis elevates what is already an elegant production into a shouldn’t miss performance, even if a story about a conflicted Hasidic Jewish painter isn’t your thing. It isn’t ours either, but we are better for having seen it.
As Lev’s father and mother, Phil Amico and Francine Birns (former Carbonell-nominee) could be anyone’s parents whose child is growing up in ways they’re not happy with. They just happen to be Hasidic Jews, but the feelings are the same universally. The love, mixed in with the disappointment and fear is the same. The dread is the same. The guilt of what did I do wrong is the same.
Amico and Birns are grieving, essentially, having to watch the young man they had such high hopes for not adhere to their ways, but make his own way in the world. Enough cannot be said about their sensitive portrayals, and the scene where they walk arm-in-arm through the art gallery, before finally stumbling on what they do not want to see, is suspense-filled and heartbreaking for them, and for Asher Lev. And for us.
This is not the first time Landis and Birns have shared a stage. They are comfortable with each other, and Amico fits right in. The chemistry between the three actors is charged. Listening to Asher trying to explain to his religious papa the difference between naked women and nudes is cute and clever.
The Carbonell-nominated Alexandra Van Hasselt plays the dual roles of Anna and Rachel. We don’t see much of Van Hasselt, (even when she’s posing for a nude), but she comes across as elegant and kind, and we are glad Asher has her in his corner.
Also in his corner is Michael Golding in triple roles of Asher’s Uncle Yitzchok; the family’s rebbe, and a mentor and friend, Jacob Kahn. As a successful artist who has already made his way in the world, Kahn comes into Asher’s life at exactly the right time, becoming exactly what Asher needs. Golding goes for the understated throughout, and his love and concern for his young nephew, student, and protégé respectfully comes across as nothing but genuine.
Once again, Alan Nash, Mark Hernandez, and Holly Budney have taken on all the behind-the-scenes responsibilities. The set doesn’t move which is a wise choice given the show’s intensity. A small desk sits to one side, a kitchen table on the other, and center-stage houses various easels that represent paintings. Lighting and sound cues have to be spot-on, and were, and the addition of Judaic music is appreciated.
Windows seem to be important at the West Boca Theatre Company and have been effectively utilized in the last several productions. In the Torah (Judaism’s most revered teachings), windows symbolize such themes as being seen, resilience, and venturing out into the world. All of these, not coincidently, are relevant to Asher Lev.
Some of the dialogue may fall flat with anyone non-Jewish (goyim.) This critic was able to follow along (mostly) due to a long-term relationship with a Jewish boy, but for anyone unfamiliar with Judaic traditions, and words like bris, shul, and shofar, some bits will go over your head. In order to not alienate any goyim audience members, passing on some of this knowledge through Asher’s asides and monologues would have been an easy fix, but that’s an issue with the script.
For anyone who’s ever been pushed down and not given the wings to fly, or for anyone who has ever done the pushing, My Name Is Asher Lev is for you. Asher’s story does not fall on deaf ears. Personally, this critic will never forget watching a very devout Catholic woman sit at her kitchen table sobbing her eyes out because she couldn’t bring herself to attend her son’s second wedding, since (according to her beliefs), he was still married to his first wife. We acknowledge how difficult it must be at times to reconcile a core system of values against free will, and we have nothing but compassion to all fighting that fight.
In the end, Directors Holly Budney and Alan Nash have created a beautiful piece of art about a delicate young man who only wants to create beautiful pieces of art. And whether, you’re Hasidic, Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, or a goyim, the art of compromise, and following your passions, are never the wrong roads to take.
Britin Haller is a mystery author and an editor for Turner Publishing. Her recent short story “So Many Shores in Crookland” can be read in the 150th issue of Black Cat Weekly. Britin’s latest edit, a cozy mystery novel called Dumpster Dying is by Michelle Bennington and available where books are sold. Find Britin across social media
.My Name Is Asher Lev from the West Boca Theatre Company runs through February 19 at the Levis JCC Sandler Center, 1050 95th Avenue S., Boca Raton (south of Glades Rd, west of Lyons; be prepared to present your driver’s license at the guard gate); 7:30 p.m. Saturdays; 2 p.m. Wednesdays and Sundays. Running time approx. 120 minutes includes a 15-minute intermission. Tickets starting at $35 for non-JCC members. Call 561-558-2520, or visit levisjcc.org.
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