Under the Lintel – MetroStage

Jordan Wright
April 22, 2014
Special to The Alexandria Times 

Paul Morella as The Librarian in Underneath the Lintel – Photo credit: Chris Banks

What is the impetus that drives us forward each day?  Is it hope?  How do we decide what holds meaning for us?  Is it faith, or just curiosity?  For a Dutch librarian, trapped in a humdrum job checking in books from the overnight repository and sending overdue notices to scofflaws, it is to confront the man who checked out a Baedeker Travel Guide some 113 years ago.  Outraged by the audacity of the borrower who waited so long to return the book, he determines to track him down. Apart from the borrower’s baffling initial, “A.”, and his confounding address, a small village in China, he has but one clue to go on.  Tucked between the yellowed pages is a receipt for a pair of trousers from a laundry in London.  This small clue becomes the catalyst to unlock the mysteries of life and to release him from a colorless life devoid of purpose.

Paul Morella as The Librarian in Underneath the Lintel – Photo credit: Chris Banks

James Kronzer’s set is a masterpiece of evocative scenic design that evokes the university quarters of Indiana Jones from Raiders of the Lost Ark, a jumble of objects gathered by a man prospecting for answers.  Worn briefcases and suitcases and papers are strewn about.  Easel blackboards, an old globe and a long wooden table displaying a skull, surround him.  His quest will take him around the world on an emotional and metaphysical journey to find “A.” – – or is it his own enlightenment he seeks.

Dressed in a three-piece tweed suit the pedantic librarian is delivering a lecture on his travels.  His handmade sign reads, ‘Impressive Presentation of Lovely Evidences’.  “I have only one night for this, due to the extortionary rates of this auditorium,” he declares using historical slides from a carousel projector to aid in the telling.

Paul Morella – Photo credit: Chris Banks

Paul Morella stars in this one-man play that uses the parable of The Wandering Jew, a man cursed to wander the earth until the Second Coming.  Playwright Glen Berger has co-opted the myth to explore the plight of the Jews in Nazi Germany.  When the librarian finds a second clue leading him to Bonn and the discovery of an incident report of a “dirty Jew” thrown off a train, he sets out on a seemingly endless trail of conundrums, discovering an unrequited romance and a series of iconic moments in history.  Obscure arcana hidden in the clues reveal the librarian’s encyclopedic knowledge and inform his feverish expedition.  Parables from Aesculus, modern day graffiti and Hobson’s ultimatum theory all hint at the subject.  “The act of believing and the act of accepting are two very different things,” he posits to us.

Morella gives a riveting and commanding performance seamlessly reflecting the intensity of the character against the theme’s comedic irony.  Director John Vreeke succeeds mightily in orchestrating this fascinating and complex production.

Through May 25^th at MetroStage 1201 North Royal Street, Alexandria, 22314.  For tickets and information call 703 548-9044 or visit www.metrostage.org.