SJCF: Underneath the Lintel

Saratoga Jewish Cultural Festival, with a generous grant from the Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York and co-sponsored by Skidmore Jewish Student Life, Congregation Beth Shalom and Temple Sinai, will present a one woman show called Underneath the Lintel on August 28 at 3 PM and 7 PM at the Skidmore College Chapel.

Underneath the Lintel is a truly funny and at the same time an incredibly serious play on the universality of human history.  It transitions seamlessly and unavoidably from a curious, narrowly focused detective story to an exploration of the most fundamental questions about life. The basic plot of the play is simple; a librarian comes upon a book returned in a book slot that is 123 years overdue. Thus begins a challenge to discover who had it, who now must pay the overdue charges and where to find this individual.

But what starts out as self-important attempt to impose the fine of a lifetime, delves slowly and methodically into a manic pursuit of the truth behind a supernatural legend, and finally to an existential exploration of the meager yet unique impact one lonely life can have on a universe large beyond our comprehension.