ongoing - Sat. Nov. 17

At this time when so many people are being so vociferous in their divergent opinions about how this nation should be run, it may be the perfect time to see a play in which two people from the same nation yet from very different worlds find a way to come together after some early strife. Despite the fact that it was written in the late 1960s about the early 1940s, Chaim Potok’s "The Chosen" is such a story. Through November 17, it is being presented by the Lyric Stage Company of Boston.

"The Chosen" is the story of two boys who are both Jewish and yet from very different societies. Daniel Saunders is the son of a Chasidic rabbi. Reuven Malter is heir to a more progressive Zionist legacy. Despite these differences, however, the two are able to find common ground and, in the process, to teach their families and their communities a thing or two about acceptance and understanding and the strength and wisdom that can come from combining ideas and ideals instead of fighting over them.

Having had such success with their presentation of Potok’s My Name is Asher Lev, the Lyric is looking forward to Aaron Posner’s adaptation of this what is perhaps Potok’s best-known story. Directed by Israeli-born, Brandeis-educated Fulbiright scholar Daniel Gidron, the Lyric production will feature fellow Brandeis alum and well-known Boston actor Charles Linshaw who will make his Lyric debut as Reuven.

Recalling both the book (which he read while studying at Brandeis) and the acclaimed film version, Linshaw says that he found the story “profoundly moving.” In fact, when he reapproached the story by way of the dramatic script last year, he was again ”moved to tears and I saw myself in the role of the narrator.” Though he was tempted to read the original book again, Linshaw originally refused as he did not want to “become too attached” to the role or story. “One learns as an actor to avoid incurring extra heartache,” he suggests, “since there’s inevitably so much.” Eventually, however, he could not help himself, and ran back to the source. “When I knew I was going to be in the show,” he recalls, “I reread the book immediately and was struck again by the depth of feeling contained in its pages.”

According to Linshaw, "The Chosen" is “a compelling story” which, he suggests, “rings true” in its cultural portrayals, especially for Jewish readers. After re-reading the story, Linshaw travelled to Williamsburg and Crown Heights to acquaint himself with the people and the cultures that inspired it. He even read the lesser-known (but no less worthy) sequel story, "The Promise," which picks up where "The Chosen" ends. “I also watched a series of documentaries about Chasidic culture,” says Linshaw, who is dedicating this performance both to the memory of his father and also to the late Rabbi Emil Hager. It was only after all of this “primary source research” that Linshaw finally watched the film again. When he reviewed the movie, Linshaw found himself watching with a much more critical and understanding eye than he had when he first saw it years ago. “I found myself feeling very aware of the director’s choices in terms of casting, camera angle, and plot additions that created tension and nuance to the very visual story on screen,” he explains. “What I think readers and theater-goers and certainly fans of the film may find fascinating is that Chaim Potok was very involved in both the creation of the film and also the creation of the play.” In fact, Linshaw suggests that Potok realized the story more full yin the later editions. “I think much of that has to do with how story telling works in different media,” he says. “The language of film is very different from the language of the stage. In the film, the camera functions very much like the narrator. We see the story unfold through Reuven’s eyes.

In the play, the narrative voice in embodied by an actor playing Reuven as an adult, leading the audience on a journey which is acted out in theatrical time by a younger actor playing Reuven as a boy and young man. "Another key difference, Linshaw notes, is the casting itself. “The film is busy and populated with many people,” he observes. “The play is spare, performed by five male actors. The women who are largely secondary characters in the book are not present in the play.”

 Thanks to the magic of DVD, Linshaw was able to study not only the film itself in minute detail, but also the actors in it. In the process, he found that many of them had done similar research to his own. In one of the cast interviews on the DVD, Rod Steiger also recalls spending time in Brooklyn as he was preparing to play Rabbi Saunders. “In our own ways, we have each steeped ourselves in the story,” Linshaw muses, “first by reading both the book and the play, then listening to music, watching movies, listening to radio broadcasts, spending time in shul, sharing Yiddish sayings and jokes and stories about older relatives who were from this time.”

While there are many sources from which to draw, Linshaw says that Director Danny Gidron and his creative team have had a “very clear vision” of what they want to offer from the beginning. “We’ve talked a lot about silence,” he recalls, “about growing up in a climate of war and political turmoil, the ramification of the Great Depression, and of course, the Holocaust. And we certainly discussed the movie and how authentically the Chasidic world from that time was brought to life on screen. But we haven’t tried to create a play that replicates the film in any way, nor have we tried to work against the film’s influence.”

 While the story has been reworked and repuporsed many times, Linshaw and his fellow cast members look forward to offering their own take on the story. “We are trying to pour our own souls into the characters,” he says, “to allow Potok’s words to lead us where we need to go, and to open our hearts and voices in the service of his beautiful story.”

As he is eager to learn from his audiences, Linshaw is especially looking forward to the two “talkback” sessions after the Sunday matinees. “It would be so interesting to us to hear from audience members who are familiar with the story,” he says, “as well as people who have never read the book or seen the film.”

 Despite the fact that there is no sex and none of what Linshaw terms “misbehavior,” The Chosen remains poplar in all of its forms. When asked why he thinks this is, Linsahw musies, “I think the specificity of the characters gives them universal appeal. Most people can relate to friendship, to fathers and sons, to grief, worry, anxiety about the future, hard economic times, questions about faith and how God can allow terrible events to occur, how people change as they grow older, how we must make choices and in doing so define who are and who we will become.”

 Despite its time-sensitive setting, Linshaw suggests (and sincerely hopes) that this new production will resonate with contemporary audiences. “Anyone who has been exposed to this story will feel a sense of connection to this production,” he suggests. “All art is open to interpretation, so there may be people who like the play better, those who find the movie more accessible, and those who feel that nothing could ever measure up to the book. But our goal is to tell the story as clearly, honestly and authentically as we can and hopefully to transport our audience to another time and place.”

According to Linshaw, however, there really is little need for such temporal “transport.” “The play seems incredibly relevant now,” he says. “We’ve recently experienced a terrible economic crisis and much of the country is still suffering in the aftermath. There is uncertainty both at home with our election looming and abroad where we are involved in war. Sadly, genocides have continued despite the lessons of the Holocaust. And the Chasidic communities continue to preserve as best they can, the lost world of pre-war Eastern European Jewry, and they remain as mysterious today to many American Jews and non-Jews as they were fifty years ago.”

Though the years have gone on, the issues remain and the lessons are still to be learned. “One of the central themes of this play is tolerance,” Linshaw suggests, “and the notion that contradictory ideas and beliefs can coexist without any one side being more right than the other. I also think somehow in this digital age, there is something incredible about this story of best friends who spend most of their time together and really shape each other’s lives as they grow into adulthood. And I think it’s elegant because Chaim Potok wrote from his heart, with style, with immense curiosity about the world, and with great love and respect for his characters. “

 While every actor wants an audience, Linshaw goes so far as to personally invite people to come hear his story. “We make theater for our audience,” he says, mentioning a sincere respect and love for those who respect and love the art. “I'm playing the narrator, and you, the audience will be my scene partner.”

Tickets;' $58-$25. Wed-Thurs. at 7:30. Fri-Sat. at 8. Sat.-Sun. at 3.
 
- Matt Robinson

140 Clarendon St., 617585-5678 www.lyricstage.com