Stage Adaptation of My Name Is Asher Lev, Starring Ari Brand, to Play Off-Broadway's Westside Theatre

A stage adaptation of Chaim Potok’s novel My Name Is Asher Lev is heading to off-Broadway’s Westside Theater starring Ari Brand, according to The New York Times. Adapted by playwright Aaron Posner and directed by Gordon Edelstein, the production will begin performances November 8, with an official opening night on November 28.

My Name Is Asher Lev originally premiered at Philadelphia’s Arden Theatre Company in 2009, then received a production at New Haven’s Long Wharf Theatre in May 2012, starring Brand, Mark Nelson and Melissa Miller, and directed by Edelstein. The play tells the story of Asher Lev (Brand), a Hasidic Jewish boy who lives in New York City who wants to become an artist. As Asher matures as both a Jew and an artist, he struggles to be accepted by his family and the members of his community. In the Heights composer Lin-Manuel Miranda is also working on a musical adaptation of the novel.

Brand has appeared off-Broadway in Black Tie and Romeo and Juliet. His film and TV credits include White Collar and Blood Magic.