When our co-production of My Name is Asher Lev opened recently at Delaware Theatre Company, Howard Shapiro, theatre critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer, gave it a rave. Here’s a little of his review.
“Masterful… a beautiful realization of the script, and a profound declaration of the power of storytelling on a stage. Everything about director Jeremy Skidmore’s production works at the highest level. The tale of Asher Lev – a boy whose talent for art gradually carries him from the tight, devout Brooklyn community of his parents into the world of galleries, critics, fame, and secular profanity – plays out as a metaphor for the way each generation must decide to handle what it’s handed.”
He singled out the performers, all of whom will be seen at Round House when Asher starts on March 17.
“Three muscular actors [have] a keen sense of the characters’ time and the changes these figures witness, spur, or try uneasily to accommodate: Adam Heller in multiple roles as the father, the rabbi, the artist-mentor, and more; Lise Bruneau as the mother, a gallery owner, and an artist’s model; and Alexander Strain as Asher Lev. The endearing Strain has a finely nuanced sense of vulnerability. It becomes his shield, his weapon, even his character’s partner.”
Here’s a photo preview of the show that won his applause – and that’s coming to our stage. These photos are by Matt Urban of Delaware Theatre Company. Click on each of the photos to view at a larger size.
Alexander Strain, seen here as Asher, was in Forum Theatre’s Helen Hayes Award-nominated production of Angels in America at Round House Silver Spring.
Alexander Strain, Lise Bruneau, and Adam Heller as Asher and his parents. Lise was seen on at Round House in The Book Club Play and was part of our Helen Hayes Award-nominated cast of Alice. Adam appeared in the world premiere of Asher Lev at Philadelphia’s Arden Theatre Company.
Adam Heller and Alexander Strain. Adam’s Broadway appearances include Caroline, or Change, A Class Act, Victor/Victoria, and Les Miserables. This is his Round House debut.
Alexander Strain and Lise Bruneau. Lise’s appeared in D.C. in Legacy of Light at Arena Stage and Ion, Othello, and The Winter’s Tale at the Shakespeare Theatre Company. She has also directed for Taffety Punk. Alexander made his RHT debut in Lord of the Flies. His D.C. appearances include The Seagull on 16th Street (Theater J) and Caligula (Washington Shakespeare Company). He has been nominated for three Helen Hayes Awards for acting.
In addition to Asher Lev, playwright Aaron Posner’s other recent adaptations include Mark Twain’s A Murder, A Mystery & A Marriage (which was seen at RHT) and Ken Kesey’s Sometimes a Great Notion. His adaptation of Chaim Potok’s The Chosen won Philadelphia’s Barrymore Award in 1999 for Best New Play and has been produced around the country. Aaron has won Helen Hayes Awards as a playwright and as a director.
Directing Asher Lev is Jeremy Skidmore, who’s nominated for a Helen Hayes Award for Forum Theatre’s Angels in America: Millennium Approaches.
Watch this blog for more info about My Name is Asher Lev.
Lance Tucker
Director of Marketing and PR
