Chaim Potok’s work THE CHOSEN has had quite a journey since it was first published as a novel in 1967. Such was the popularity of the work that Potok was inspired to write a sequel called The Promise, published two years later, carrying on the story of one of the two main characters. In 1981 The Chosen was made into a movie directed by Jeremy Kagan and starring Maximilian Schell and Rod Steiger. In 1999 Potok with colleague Aaron Posner premiered a theatrical adaptation at the Arden theatre in New York.
It is this stage adaptation which audiences are now seeing in its inaugural Australian season at the University of New South Wales’s Shalom College. This is such a wonderful, moving story and the piece works well in its theatrical manifestation.
Much credit has to go to producer and director Moira Blumenthal for being the first to take on this work and coming up with a solid production up in what was an improvised theatre space at Shalom College. Hopefully her initiative will encourage other companies to follow suit.
The central device that Potok and Posner use in their adaption is to have two Reuvens on stage. We have live action taking place with the adolescent Reuven going through tumultuous times, and we have the old, sage-like Reuven who acts as narrator and breaks into the action to guide the audience along.
This narratorial device, a very old and trusty one in the theatrical tool-box, works mainly well though, at times, it felt like the appearance of the narrator Reuven occurred just a little too frequently, slowing the ‘live’ narrative down.
Briefly, for those new to this work, The Chosen is set in the mid-Twentieth Century in Brooklyn. The play takes place over a period of six years, beginning in 1944 when the two boys are just fifteen years old. It is a very turbulent time in world history with the death of the great American President Theodore Roosevolt, the chilling revelation of the Holocaust in Europe, and the embryonic struggle for the creation of the state of Israel. The play reflects these events astutely.
Potok’s work is a weighty tome. Themes covered include the value of deep, abiding, enduring friendships, the importance of being able to adjust to changing times and new ways of thinking, the need to respect silence, and to also take time out for contemplation and reflection.
The pick of the performances came from Daniel Mitchell and Gabriel McCarthy playing father, Rabbinical sage and tzaddik Rabbi Saunders, and brilliant and willful son, Danny. The conviction and intelligence in which they performed their roles shone through.
They were ably supported by two very reliable, veteran performers, Maeliosa Stafford in the central role as the plays narrator and Barry French as David Malter, Reuven’s Talmudic scholar. Anthony Darvell displayed some nice touches as Reuven.
Blumenthal’s staging, tying in with veteran set designer Tony Youlden’s handiwork, worked well, clearly delineating the play’s two central locations, the living rooms in Reuven’s and Danny’s apartments.
Recommended, this Moira Blumenthal production in association with Encounters@Shalom opened at Shalom College, University of New South Wales, Barker Street, Kensington on Saturday 30th August and is playing until Sunday 14th September.