The collision of the sacred and secular worlds lies at the heart of My Name is Asher Lev,the play by Aaron Posner (adapted from Chaim Potok’s novel) which is now in a lengthy Los Angeles premiere run at the Fountain Theater.
Gifted young actor Jason Karasev plays Asher, the only child of a Brooklyn Hasidic family. Asher’s artistic gifts–manifested at an early age – get him into trouble with his deeply observant parents, Aryeh (Joel Polis) and Rivkeh (Anna Khaja), who fear that his urge to draw and paint derives from the “dark side” of life. Otherwise, why would a good Jewish boy like Asher be so different not only from them but everyone else in the tight Hasidic community of Crown Heights? As Asher grows up he struggles mightily to cope with the contradictory sides of his nature: he loves his parents and his religion, yet is driven by his yearnings to break free of all Orthodox bindings and fulfill his destiny as an artist.
The large, crowded canvas of Potok’s novel has been reduced to its essence by the playwright, who keeps the focus on Asher by having him talk directly to the audience, narrating the unfolding stages of his always-conflicted and troubled life. There are no pauses or breaks in the play; it moves ahead swiftly and forcefully without an intermission, with Polis and Khaja playing multiple parts with dexterous and magical skill.
The main influence on Asher is Jacob Kahn (Polis), a non-observant Jewish artist who mentors Asher and helps him to achieve greatness, knowing at the same time that “the pursuit of art can eat you alive.” Thus it is with much trepidation that he keeps pushing Asher to expand his artistic horizons, to dare be ruthlessly honest and brave – even when it comes to painting nude women and Christ’s agony on the cross. Only then will Asher truly become an artist, not a propagandist.
The torment Asher feels as he slowly begins to reject all of the taboos that are embedded in Orthodox Judaism is conveyed in heart-felt, powerful fashion by Karasev. In the actor’s hands, Asher becomes both a worldly success and a tragic hero.
