Originally scheduled for an 18-week engagement, performances will now continue through May 26, 2013. A new block of tickets for the extension is available for one week exclusively through GILT (www.giltcity.com) before going on sale to the general public on Dec. 26.

Ari Brand, who played Asher Lev in the recent Long Wharf Theatre production, re-creates the title role Off-Broadway. He is joined by Mark Nelson and Jenny Bacon, who play Asher Lev's parents, Aryeh and Rivkeh. (Naama Potok is the understudy for the role of Asher's mother, Rivkeh; she is the daughter of the author Chaim Potok. Jonathan Raviv is the male understudy.)

Gordon Edelstein directs. The Posner adaptation has had more than a dozen productions in regional theatres. Read the recent Playbill magazine feature about My Name Is Asher Lev.

Set in post-war Brooklyn, My Name is Asher Lev, according to production notes, tells the "powerful story of a boy prodigy who must paint at any cost — against the will of family, community and tradition. It is a luminous portrait of a young artist with a universal theme to follow our passion."

The production also features set design by Eugene Lee, lighting design by James F. Ingalls, costume design by Ilona Somogyi and original music/sound design by John Gromada. Darren Bagert is lead producer.

Tickets are available by visiting Telecharge.com or by calling (212) 239-6200. Specially priced tickets are offered for all performances for $39. Westside Theatre is at 407 W. 43rd Street.

For more information visit AsherLevThePlay.com.