"My Name is Asher Lev' at the Arden

My Name Is Asher Lev is a gratifying play, whether or not you're familiar with the Chaim Potok novel of the same name. Aaron Posner's adaptation and staging is less cluttered, more focused and even more successful than his earlier work with Potok's The Chosen. In this concentrated form, the play actually turns out to be more intense than the novel.

My Name Is Asher Lev is the story of a Hasidic Jewish boy whose attraction to a life as an artist creates conflict with his traditional father. Many observant Jews shun paintings of people because they feel it violates the commandment against making graven images. Aryeh Lev reluctantly allows his son to paint, but draws the line against nudes and Christian religious figures.

Some observers see this story as a son's battle with an implacable father, but I find it more ambivalent and, consequently, more interesting. It brings to mind the dilemma of Tevye in Fiddler On the Roof, whose liberal tendencies lead to his heart-rending conclusion that he has tolerated too much.

Religion vs. art

Potok's story is more complex than Fiddler. My Name Is Asher Lev concerns not only a clash between tradition and change but also a conflict between religious tradition and artistic tradition. Potok's story presents a battle between good and good"“ between two admirable but different callings.

The novel sometimes is thought of as a period piece that explores a distant culture, but similar Hasidic sects thrive today, not only in Brooklyn but also in Philadelphia and its suburbs. Some members travel today, as did Asher Lev's father, establishing religious havens, such as Lubavitch houses, in European cities.

Posner's simple production keeps the story universal. The book details Reb Lev's obsession with Russia's persecution of Jews, but this play, wisely, does not. The props are simple and the scenery is spare.

You can hear his whispers

Adam Heller is excellent in the multiple roles of Asher's father, his sympathetic uncle and an older, secularized artist who serves as Asher's counselor. His speech patterns, his accent and his posture change appropriately for each. Not only is Heller's acting technically superb"“ for example, you can clearly hear his softest whispers"“ but he also makes each of his vignettes into a rounded characterization.

Gabra Zackman plays Asher's conflicted mother, a hard-bitten gallery owner and an artist's model. She's so good that she convinces us she is each of these vastly different women. The youthful Karl Miller plays Asher Lev earnestly and appealingly.

As to what, specifically, Asher Lev is painting that causes the play's controversy— that, wisely, remains a mystery from the audience. The dramatic conflict works better when we use our imagination.

On the other hand, the audience also never sees Asher's payes, either. This production utilizes costuming, makeup and hair styling in the normal theatrical way, so why can't Asher wear the traditional side locks that are mentioned occasionally in the dialogue?