But, in the world Potok draws here, that life is in sharp contrast to the one within which the protagonist has grown up. Would that Asher Lev had been born into an intellectually liberal, Upper West Side family! Then, being an artist would have been part of the family religion. In that community, study of Bible and Talmud, and observance of a strict and ritually pure way of life, are valued becoming a painter is not. This would not ordinarily be a problem, except that he hails from a Hasidic family in Brooklyn for which such things are considered far too worldly. It was only on later reflection that I realized where its genius, and humor, truly lay.Īsher Lev is an artistic prodigy, capable of rendering amazing drawings and paintings.
This production is excellent, but the unnerving aspects of the novel returned. When I went to see this play, I had forgotten that I had read the novel (published in 1972) on which it is based, but once it got rolling it all came back to me.
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