Jenny Bacon and Mark Nelson to Play Ari Brand's Parents in My Name is Asher Lev

Jenny Bacon and Mark Nelson will play Rivkeh and Aryeh, the parents of Ari Brand’s character in the stage adaptation of My Name is Asher Lev. Adapted by Aaron Posner (The Chosen) and directed by Gordon Edelstein, the play is based on Chaim Potok's classic novel of the same name. My Name is Asher Lev begins performances at off-Broadway’s Westside Theatre on November 8, with an official opening night scheduled for November 28.

Set in post-war New York City, My Name Is Asher Lev is the story of a Hasidic Jewish boy (Brand) who wants to be an artist. As Asher matures as both a Jew and an artist, he continues to struggle to be accepted by his family and the members of his community. My Name is Asher Lev premiered at Philadelphia’s Arden Theatre Company in 2009. Edelstein directed a production of the new play at New Haven’s Long Wharf Theatre in May 2012, starring Brand, Nelson and Melissa Miller.

Bacon recently appeared in Signature Theatre’s Heartless. Her other off-Broadway credits include In the Wake, Race, A Streetcar Named Desire and Carson McCullers (Historically Inaccurate). Nelson has appeared in nine Broadway productions including After the Fall, The Invention of Love, Amadeus and Brighton Beach Memoirs. Potok’s daughter Naama Potok has been cast as Bacon’s understudy in the role of Asher’s mother.