From the C-T,
BG--
by Jim Cavener, take5 correspondent
ASHEVILLE – The title is odd enough. But it’s all explained in “Under the Lintel: The Mystery of the Abandoned Trousers,” centered around a long-missing library book, and now playing at N.C. Stage Company.
Written by Glen Berger, it was very well received by the audience at Wednesday night’s opening. It’s not just the compelling script, but a true tour-de-force performance by one actor, Terry Weber, who teaches theater at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. The rapidity, the intensity and the integrity of the role are riveting.
The concept and writing are exemplary. Teasing and tricky, the context is a one-night show in a shabby rented theater in the Netherlands, wherein a lonely local library clerk presents to a measly audience the results of his obsessive/compulsive global journey to find out who had returned to “his” library a book, 113 years overdue. It’s no big thing, except for the fussy, prissy clerk who turns it into a memorable ideological odyssey and extraordinary spiritual journey.
Themes that are broached are free will vs. Hobson’s choice, the true plight of human existence, meaning and meaninglessness, myth, legend and the existence of a deity. The technique has been likened to “The DaVinci Code,” while Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes are not far afield.
The whole show is essentially an import from the theater program of University of Tennessee, with which N.C. Stage Company has long had a relationship. Weber and director Casey Sams are from UT, as are other members of the crew.
There are in-the-script projections and audio recordings, a sparsely decorated set with five large objects across the back of the stage, plus three pods of other random furnishings, each accented by books.
Images from London, China, the U.S. and Australia with references to “Les Miserables” (in three languages!), the Book of Job, Wales and Kilroy enrich the mix and are further ‘lovely evidences’ in this enigma hiding in a conundrum.
Cavener writes on theater for the Citizen-Times. E-mail JimCavener@aya.Yale.edu.
09 April 2008
Underneath the Lintel
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3 comments:
nice--it's been a while since we've seen a review from the MX!
(http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2008/play_review_underneath_the_lintel)
BG--
by Alli Marshall
It’s difficult to describe Underneath the Lintel: The Mystery of the Abandoned Trousers, the current production at North Carolina Stage Company. And not just because a representative from the theater cautioned me not to give away the mystery. Now, I like a good thriller as much as the next person, and even though I occasionally read ahead in a novel to find out how it ends, I would never spoil the surprise. However, in the case of Lintel I’m not sure that I could even if I wanted to. See, I’m not all together certain of what happens.
This is not to say that the play isn’t excellent — it is. And actor Terry Weber (who stars as the soul character) is riveting almost from the moment he takes the stage. A solo performance is hard to do, and Weber manages to make 90 minutes pass in record time. The premise of the play is catchy, too: A tightly wound Dutch librarian finds a book in the return slot that is 134 years overdue. When he decides to locate the borrower — more likely the borrower’s descendants — a mystery begins to unfold.
Just who the phantom borrower turns out to be, I can’t reveal. And, in fact, neither does the play. The thing about Lintel is that its creator, Glen Berger, is skilled at asking questions and maddeningly adept at answering them with yet more questions. The end result? For the audience, a spell-binding hour and half, some interesting insights into biblical scripture, human nature, the passage of time, and the oft-grafittied declaration, “I was here.” But don’t go to this show expecting a tidy conclusion. That’s not happening.
Worth noting is the collection of vintage suitcases and yellowed papers making up the set. There’s also the spot-on usage of a slide projector, and some fun pokes at the Broadway show Les Misérables. Weber, in all the trappings of a stuffy librarian, manages to evoke a mood of timelessness while leading the audience on a whirlwind journey across centuries. Ticket stubs, cards from library catalogues and an antiquated date stamp are objects fondly rescued from another time to further the story. Even Weber’s initially questionable Dutch accent quickly proves to be the perfect choice. He’s able to pronounce words just so for maximum comedic affect.
Similarly, the actor employs physical humor, frustrated shouts and the presentation of all matter of ephemera at just the right moments. Timing is everything, and Lintel is in perfect rhythm.
As for the fuzzy ending — really, that’s for the audience to decide. Who borrowed the book? Is there really a mystery man leaving clues? And what about the plays high-strung narrator? What is his role, when all is said and done? Go see it for yourself and then let me know what, for you, is the bottom line.
Underneath the Lintel runs through Sunday, April 20, at N.C. Stage. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and on Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets range $15-$25 by date, with dinner-and-a-show on Thursday, April 10, for $100 per person. Info: 350-9090.
— Alli Marshall, A&E reporter
from wnctheatre,
--BG
Underneath the Lintel: The Mystery of the Abandoned Trousers
Now that’s how you write an intriguing title. Underneath the Lintel, a one-man show written by Glen Berger and directed by Casey Sams, is the current mainstage offering at North Carolina Stage Company. It stars Terry Weber as a rather obsessive-compulsive librarian in pursuit of a patron who has returned a book – in the overnight drop, no less – 113 years late. Without wanting to give too much away, this quest ends up taking him on a tortuous, personal sojourn through, at different turns, existentialism, faith, and the need for legacy, however small.
The script is well-crafted and well-paced. The review in the New York Times of (I believe) the first production of the show, at the SoHo Playhouse, states: “’Underneath the Lintel’ … is the kind of piece that works harder to be winning than it does to be heartfelt or original. A tale of a picaresque journey that evolves into a spiritual quest, it is, as a script, a writerly muscle-flexer, one in which you can imagine the playwright applying charm and erudition to the narrative as though he were following a recipe for audience-pleasing.” It goes on to critique that “the playwright's ingenuity never ferries the audience into unexplored territory. That the experience of life on earth is characterized by a desperate attempt to leave a mark, that mortality makes every second valuable, that love is our only available salve – these are the various strains of the playwright's message here, and they are delivered without any individuated nuance. They're canned themes.” I can kind of see what the critic is saying; however, I didn’t take the play to be an attempt at a new or innovative perspective on grand universal themes as much as I did an exploration of this individual’s journey. In that light, I found it particularly compelling and a surprising character study. It is most certainly carefully and deliberately written, but I do not find fault in that.
The subtle mood and thematic changes of the piece grab the audience’s attention and truly don’t let it go till the end, no small feat for a 90-minute monologue. Lighting and sound design enrich the experience, as the show becomes more “theatrical” as the librarian’s quest becomes more complex and introspective. Terry Weber gives a fine, multi-layered performance, bringing to full life both the comedy and pensiveness of the character.
This is a wonderful production of a fascinating play. While the focus is on the mysterious man with the pants, the real story is about the central character. How does he change, and what does he learn about life and living?
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