There is a great deal of symmetry in the Theater J production of “The Chosen” at Arena Stage. There are two fathers, two sons, two baseball teams, two communities and two very different views of Judaism. An adaptation of Chaim Potok’s novel, “The Chosen” is set in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, beginning in 1944. In Aaron Posner’s effective adaptation, the story establishes the mood of an era, illuminating the sights and smells of 1940s Brooklyn, then moves on to reveal the inner lives of two 15-year-old boys who face off on a baseball diamond. Although they live five blocks apart, their worlds are totally separate: Reuven is a modern Orthodox Jew, Danny is a member of the Hasidic community.
| ONSTAGE |
| ‘The Chosen’ |
| Where: Theater J, presented as the first local guest company-in-residence at Arena Stage, 1101 6th St., SW |
| When: Through March 27 |
| Info: $35 to $60; 202-488-3300; theaterj.org |
The play is narrated by an adult version of Reuven (Aaron Davidman). As he recalls how he and Danny played, fought and taught each other the virtues of friendship, he provides the gentle, philosophic tone that is essential to this production.
Danny (Joshua Morgan) wears traditional dress and earlocks even while playing ball and is a great batter and very competitive. But when he hurts Reuven (Derek Kahn Thompson) in a game, Danny visits Reuven in the hospital and the two become friends.
Morgan is quietly powerful as the brilliant Danny, an intense young man, anxious to break out of the path that his religion has planned for him. Thompson is equally impressive as Reuven, the brilliant mathematician who is more at home in the conventional, secular world than Danny is. Thompson provides the humor and sensitivity necessary for this role.
Edward Gero is sturdy as David Malter, Reuven’s father, a loving, kind, and understanding Talmudic scholar. Danny’s father, the Hasidic leader of his community, Reb Saunders, is played with appropriate grand gestures by Rick Foucheux, although some of his words are lost at times during the productions.
James Kronzer’s set design divides the stage in half, with a beat-up desk and chair in one corner, representing David Malter’s study, and a more elegant, carved desk and furniture in an opposite corner, representing Reb Saunders’ office. Together the two areas sum up the differences of the two communities that Potok was so determined to prove could live together.
“The Chosen” moves far beyond 1944. It follows Reuven and Danny through their college years, examining a world in which the boys and their fathers saw the end of World War II, the revelation of the Holocaust, President Roosevelt’s death, the creation of Israel.
Posner masterfully underscores the importance of those events to Potok’s characters, illuminating as well the poetry and symbolism that make “The Chosen” such a treasured work of literature.
