"Underneath the Lintel" is a haunting, brilliant play about truth and meaning. The one-act takes the form of an academic presentation by a single lecturer, the Librarian (in a beautiful performance from Michael Joseph Mitchell). The Librarian is an eccentric Dutchman who has spent his entire adult life as a minor functionary, the kind of person whose conscientiousness is rarely noted but which makes the world go round. One day our hero discovers an overdue travel guide in the return slot. The book was first checked out 113 years prior. He begins an absurd quest to discover what he presumes to be the descendants of the original borrower to collect the fine. He does this by collecting scraps of evidence that lead him to England, Germany, China and all over the world. He gradually becomes convinced that the book was originally checked out by the legendary, cursed immortal Wandering Jew who has left tiny pieces of himself strewn about the globe.
The Librarian's detached but passionate pursuit of his theory is a portrait of the solitary thrill of academic discovery. He does not accept his theory at face value but he clearly wants to believe. Like most of us, he seeks meaning in the myth.
Along the way, the Librarian takes us on many comic and poignant digressions, both into history and his own frustrated but sublime life. "Underneath the Lintel" is a piece of existential comic verse, best exemplified by the Librarian's hilarious song, "We're here because...we're here." Like his quarry, our protagonist searches for a rest he can never have and must continue his pursuit until the end of his days.
Reviewed by Centerstage!
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