Librarian’s quest drives ‘Underneath the Lintel’
Scholars, fans, obsessives, cranks, conspiracy theorists — almost everyone I know would have a reason to identify with the Librarian in “Underneath the Lintel,” Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s new production.
Her quest to solve a mystery that may be insoluble is the thread that holds the beads of her life, the lost love and the mundane job as well as moments of wonder and exciting discoveries.
Milwaukee Chamber Theatre has staged and videoed this production for online viewing by ticketholders through May 2. Brent Hazelton directed the performance, with videography and editing by a team from Studio Gear.
Glen Berger’s play opens with the Librarian (Elyse Edelman) giving an illustrated lecture to a small imagined audience. Formerly she worked in a Dutch library processing returns. One day, she discovers that someone has returned a book 113 years late, a Baedeker’s travel guide. Records describe him only as “A.,” nothing more. One at a time, she uncovers clues to his identity in Germany, London, China, the United States and Australia. Ever more startling, there is evidence of “A.” at random years in the 19th and 18th centuries, and even earlier.
The Librarian begins to wonder if A. may be the mythological Wandering Jew, supposedly cursed by Christ to roam the Earth without rest until the Second Coming. In a case of Borgesian contagion, she becomes such a restless wanderer herself in search of him.
“Underneath the Lintel” is an intellectual
Watch online
Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s production of “Underneath the Lintel” can be seen online through May 2. For tickets, visit
milwaukeechamber theatre.org.
comedy, but also at times a tearful one, as the Librarian faces up to her sorrows and disappointments. Edelman puts her expressive face to work in a constantly changing whirlwind of explaining, theorizing and feeling. (“Lintel” also underlines the anti-Semitism in a legend that dishonors both Jews and Christ.)
Because the COVID-19 pandemic ruled out a live audience for “Underneath the Lintel,” we don’t get to experience the way her lecture would be amplified in a room filled with other people. Still, we proceed (to paraphrase the Librarian).
This video production brings us a different gift: several close-up scenes as though Edelman were across the kitchen table from us, including one where she uses figurines to act out a meeting of two characters. I would happily watch more of her tabletop theater.