'My Name Is Asher Lev' to debut at Broadway Center and Lakewood Playhouse

The Lakewood Playhouse and the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts in Tacoma have teamed up to offer a collaborative play, an adaptation of Chaim Potok’s “My Name Is Asher Lev,” produced in part by each organization and to be put on at two different local venues.

Potok’s modern classic was adapted for the stage by Aaron Posner and is making its Northwest premiere here in the South Sound starting today. The play is directed by Lakewood Playhouse Managing Artistic Director Marcus Walker and produced in collaboration with the Broadway Center.

The original book tells a coming-of-age story of a young, promising artist who inevitably becomes torn between his passion for art and his Orthodox Jewish faith and family, all along examining loyalty and religion and their connections to one’s growth.

“The book and the script both do a phenomenal job of condensing a long story into relatively short play,” Naarah McDonald, stage manager for “My Name Is Asher Lev” said. “It tells the story of the struggle of a young Hasidic Jew and his deep connection to art. There isn’t a strong tradition of drawing or painting in the Hasidic community, and the play shows how he attempts to balance his religious convictions with his artistic convictions.”

Lakewood Playhouse Managing Artist Director Marcus Walker and David Fischer, Executive Director of the Broadway Center, have a longstanding history – both personally and professionally – which helped stem this uniquely co-produced project.

“Walker approached Fischer about trying to build a collaborative theatrical piece and it just went from there,” McDonald said.

McDonald affirms that Walker has chosen to direct Potok books adapted into plays in the past, so when the idea came about to produce “My Name Is Asher Lev,” she knew it would be a production he would pour his heart and soul into.

“I’ve worked on a number of plays with him (Walker) including ‘The Chosen,’ another Potok novel which was also adapted by Posner, and when Marcus saw the opportunity to sort of premiere it on the West Coast, he jumped at the opportunity,” she affirmed. “It was staged in Philadelphia and he flew over to see it.”

The cast of this production contains only three individuals, but all of the actors face a very interesting and demanding challenge: playing multiple roles of varying ages and making them believable to the audiences and themselves.

“Ashler Lev is played by Jeffrey Alan Smith,” McDonald stated. “He recently relocated here, and his challenge is telling the story from the narrator’s 25 year-old point of view and balance between that age and earlier ages of 6, 7, 12, 13. His challenge is blending very young versions of himself and the story. This is solely dependent upon the actor’s ability to make us believe he’s all those ages and the narrator, and Jeffrey does it all with no costume changes.”

Elliot Weiner also plays a number of characters, including Aryeh (Asher’s father), Yizchok, Asher’s uncle, the Rebbe, who councils Asher, and Jacob Kahn, an artist who mentors Asher as he grows up.

“Elliot has a fantastic gift for identifying the uniqueness of each character and presenting it to the audience," McDonald stated. "He does have costume changes, but he may exit stage and re-enter 30 seconds later as a new character. The key is the costumes and having the ability to find the uniqueness of each character and present that to the audience."

Paige Hansen plays a few roles including Rivkeh, Asher’s mother, Rachel, a model who poses for Asher, and Anna Schaeffer, who is a gallery owner who launches Asher’s art career. “Paige is in the same position as Elliot in trying to find a uniqueness in each character,” McDonald said. “She has a unique gift for expressing each person’s individuality.”

A character added to this production that isn’t written in the original script is a violinist, Leslie Foley, whose original music helps move the story along.

Though the book and play are set in the 1950s, the ways in which the Lakewood Playhouse and Broadway Center have chosen to produce this piece would not automatically allow the audience to realize that. In fact, the setting could leave viewers unsure as to when the play takes place, which can help many relate to the story.

“Most of the time period references have actually been left out of script, so it could be staged as contemporary,” McDonald said. “It (play) is relevant to audiences today in that, to recall the old adage, history, if ignored, tends to repeat itself."

In light of this fact, she feels that the play is appropriate for many age groups, and none more than the other. All can find some aspect of Asher’s experience, struggles and life to relate to.

“This story is universal,” McDonald noted. “It crosses age boundaries, and it really is about finding yourself. Anyone can relate to it outside of it being a story of a young Hasidic Jew trying to find his place in the world. It will resonate with everyone who’s trying to find out what they’re going to be when they grow up.”

For those who may not have read the book yet or seen the play produced yet, McDonald wanted to affirm an aspect of it that may not come through in brief descriptions of the production or in plot synopses that may encourage more individuals to attend and experience this piece.

“While the story is very moving, it’s also humorous,” McDonald laughed. “In our lives, even poignant moments have a bit of humor, and I think audiences will find that to be true with this production as well.”

"My Name is Asher Lev" plays Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 20 at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Theatre on the Square, 901 Broadway in Tacoma. Tickets: $28. It continues Feb. 25-March 20 at the Lakewood Playhouse (check website for fill list of dates and times), located at 5729 Lakewood Towne Center Blvd. Tickets range in price from $17 for students and individuals under age 25, $20 for seniors and military and $23 general admission.

For more information, contact the Lakewood Playhouse at (253) 588-0042 or online at www.lakewoodplayhouse.org.