Sons clash with fathers over faith in Milwaukee Rep’s ‘The Chosen’
The four ferociously intelligent characters in “The Chosen” spend much of their time in forms of verbal jousting, from friendly scholarly disputation to deeply personal argument.
But their conflicts over faith, tradition and paternal authority aren’t going to be settled by their brains alone.
Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s new production, based on Chaim Potok’s 1967 novel of the same name, presents us with two bright Jewish teenagers, Reuven Malter (Eli Mayer) and Danny Saunders (Hillel Rosenshine), and their fathers, Reb Saunders (Ron Orbach) and David Malter (Steve Routman). The Saunders are Hasidic Jews, with Danny apparently destined to succeed his father as rabbi and authority figure. In contrast, the Malters, while observant, Talmud-studying Jews, move more freely in the secular world.
Written by Potok and veteran theater artist Aaron Posner, who also directs the Rep production, “The Chosen” plunges us deeply into the New York Jewish world of the 1940s. Two worlds, really: The boys live five blocks apart, but at the outset they might as well be on different planets.
If you’re a gentile like me, fear not: Posner generally provides context for Hebrew words and Jewish practices in the script (though Orbach’s rapid-fire Gematria, or numerological explication, during a sermon is a lot for the unprepared to take in).
Both fathers are deeply troubled by the Holocaust, but they differ sharply, almost violently, over the founding of the nation of Israel in 1948: One deems it absolutely essential, while the other considers it a sacrilege and abomination. (This production does not directly address the current situation in Gaza, but its words about whether peace can come out of violence will resonate with many.)
To make the dialectic between the two families a fair fight, Orbach has some theatrical heavy lifting to do, especially for secular theatergoers dropping in on his authoritarian culture. He shows us Reb Saunders’ charismatic side but resists making the character too likable or easy to figure out. Many audience members will judge his treatment of his son as cruel. Fair enough, but just like Duke Leto in “Dune,” he sees himself not just as a father parenting a son, but as the ruler of a dynasty training a successor.
What impresses me most about “The Chosen” is the joint portrayal of the sons’ friendship by Mayer and Rosenshine. Despite their rough first encounter in a baseball game, they become loyal, gentle and tender with each other — words I am not used to writing about the connection between two young, apparently straight male characters onstage. They have done well what both the Talmud and the senior Malter have advised: “Choose a friend.”