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Regional Reviews: Florida - West Coast The Chosen
Almost all of Potok's writing is set in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, among the Chasidic Jewish community. The characters and their actions are deeply rooted in their Judaism. During a scene where Reb (Rabbi) Saunders, father to one of the protagonists, manipulates numerology to affect an outcome he has pre-ordained, I remembered my own Rabbi (certainly not Chasidic) doing similar manipulations of word/number relations. How the two young boys, Danny Saunders (Chasidic) and Reuven Malter (religious but assimilated), relate to each other comes from their religious backgrounds. Overall, the acting is effective but lacking Yiddishkeit, a strong innate Jewish core. In Asher Lev, also deeply rooted in the same period and religious community, the Jewish identity was all over the production. David Friedman as Young Reuven and Justin LeVine as Danny Saunders sport names that might be Jewish, but neither conveys that Judaism is the major component of their world, yet both actors show strong stage presence. Joseph Parra comes closest as Danny's father, but the accent is more Eastern European than Eastern European from the shtetl (Jewish ghetto). He certainly looks the part and acts it well. Dan Matisa as older Reuven gives little sense that his character is a rabbi. David Sitler as Reuven's father is a completely assimilated Jew who might indeed show little outside connection to his religious roots. Last year's Asher Lev was brilliantly on point with the strong Jewish identity, so I don't know that Wooten's directing is the problem. Asher Lev as a play is more tightly focused whereas The Chosen is a little less so. I remember reading the novel many years ago and my memory tells me that the book's major theme was what friendship is and should be, while the play covers other themes as well. Scenic design by Jerid Fox is brilliant: each of the boy's homes gets its own vastly different playing space along with space to play scenes set in other locations. Lighting design by Xena Petkanas and costume design by Saidah Ben-Judah are effective. The Chosen is a meaty piece, worthy of audience's attention and I'm glad to see American Stage presenting it. The Chosen at American Stage Theatre Company, through September 28, 2014, 163 Third Street North, St. Petersburg. For more information, visit www.americanstage.org. Cast: Director/Sound Design: T. Scott Wooten*
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