Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – James Inverne’s A WALK WITH HEIFETZ is a serious play about music, history

• By drediman
• February 27, 2018
• No Comments

James Inverne’s A Walk with Heifetz is a play about music, history, and politics. Taking place before and after World War II in pre-Israel Palestine, the play tells the story of how the arts, particularly classical

Adam Green, Yuval Boim, and Jascha Heifetz in Primary Stages’ production of James Inverne’s “A Walk with Heifetz” at Cherry Lane Theatre.

music, contributed to the formation of Israel. Although it’s a short play – it runs an efficient 90 minutes including an intermission – it’s a very dense one. It’s clearly written by a music expert; indeed, Mr. Inverne’s day job is a music journalist Gramophone and Time Magazine. The play is packed with references to composers and works of music that only classic musical buffs will pick up on. As such, the play is not for everyone, but I applaud the playwright for writing a serious play about music. If at times the play veers towards obvious melodramatics (a frequent shortcoming of first time playwrights), A Walk with Heifetz is nevertheless a heartfelt ode to a momentous time in Jewish history.

The Primary Stages production, capably and cleanly directed by Andrew Leynse, is never less than engaging, even when the play is less than fully intriguing. And the cast of four are excellent. Yuval Boim is superb as the composer Yehuda Sharett, the character whose arc the play follows. As his brother Moshe Sharett – the future Israeli Prime Minister – Erik Lochtefeld turns in an effective, rock solid performance, as usual. Rounding out the cast are Adam Green as world-famous violinist Jascha Heifetz and the lauded violinist Mariella Haubs, who provides the show with its haunting soundtrack, beautifully played live.

RECOMMENDED

A WALK WITH HEIFETZ
Off-Broadway, Play
Primary Stages at Cherry Lane Theatre
1 hour, 30 minutes (with one intermission)
Through March 4