The struggle between parents and children, a battle fought for many reasons and on many levels, is a traumatic enough experience. Down deep, both sides know the best they can hope for is a draw. When religion becomes another front in the war, everyone’s doom is sealed. And that’s the case in “My Name Is Asher Lev,” which opened last night as the first production of the 2010-11 season by the New Jewish Theatre at the Jewish Community Center.
Aaron Posner’s play, adapted from the 1972 Chaim Potok novel, is strong, as if must be to reflect the world in which it is set, and it focuses the power of the strife. Asher Lev (solid work from Robert Thibault) astonishes people with his drawings, even at the age of six. He’s the son of Aryeh (a brilliant Terry Meddows) and Rivkeh (a satisfactory Lee Ann Mathews), devout Orthodox Jews. Both Meddows and Mathews portray several other characters as well.
Aryeh, a disciple of their Hassidic rabbi (known as the rebbe), travels with him to further religious education and the Hassidic approach. At home, he’s a stern, single-minded taskmaster. The boy must study. There is no time for drawing or other childish games; in fact, there is no time for childhood. Rivkeh, like most mothers, is trapped between her husband and her son.
Asher also serves as a narrator, commenting on his growth from six to adulthood, his passion for art and his struggle to make peace between his religion and the world around him. It’s a strong performance, as Thibault manages to show the confusion of childhood without falling into the cuteness trap. Meddows, usually in lighter, more comedic roles, dominates. His rage is real, and he then shifts easily into other characters, like the rebbe, or Jacob Kahn, the painter who becomes a mentor to Asher. Meddows is smooth as silk, needing only slight differences in tone, or accent, or pacing, to delineate the various characters. It’s an outstanding performance.
The struggle between father and son is as old as history, and Asher and Aryeh are no different. Aryeh sees the world only in stark black and white while Asher is conscious of colors and tones. Listening to Asher explaining the difference between “naked women” and “nudes,” is fascinating because Aryeh can not and will not understand, although, like any father, he is secretly proud of his son’s accomplishments. But when Asher proceeds from nudes to crucifixions, that’s when the balloon goes up.
Deanna Jent’s direction is crisp and smooth on a minimalist set by Dunsai Dai. Besides an armchair at a window, and a kitchen/dining room table, the stage is bare. Empty frames hang above occasionally filled by Glenn Dunn’s lights. But “My Name Is Asher Lev” doesn’t need trappings of any sort. Potok’s use of language is sufficient to create a powerful, thought-provoking evening.
My NameIs Asher Lev, a prodction of the New Jewish Theatre, continues through Oct. 24 at the Jewish Community Center.
—Joe