Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/273295
Venice Theatre's next Stage II production will be Underneath the Lintel, Glen Berger's "absorbing one-man show," as The New York Times put it, the theatre has announced. Underneath the Lintel will open Thursday, March 13, in the Pinkerton Theatre and run through Sunday, March 30. Performances are at 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and at 2 p.m. on Sundays, a news release says. Tickets are $25 to $28 for adults and $10 to $15 for students; they are on sale at the theatre's box office, online at venicestage.com or by phone at 488-1115. "Underneath the Lintel is an adventure story about a Dutch librarian on a quest to find the person who returned a book that was 113 years overdue," the release explains. His search takes him around Europe and through centuries, and it involves many clues, ending in Christian medieval folklore, the release adds. Peter Ivanov will direct Jeremy Guerrero in the solo role, "a part that earned T. Ryder Smith a Drama Desk Award nomina- tion as Outstanding Solo Performer and later brought popular West Wing actor Richard Schiff back to his stage roots when he took over the role in the West End production," the release points out. Guerrero is no stranger to one-man shows, having garnered awards for his performance in I Am My Own Wife, also at Venice Theatre, the release says. Critical response to the play when it opened in New York in 2001 (after a short preview in Los Angeles) was positive, the release adds. Anita Gates of The New York Times called Underneath the Lintel "disarmingly entertaining" and Frank Rizzo of Variety praised Berger's play as "powerfully human and ultimately sublime." Both reviewers com- pared the story to The Da Vinci Code, with Rizzo commenting that Underneath the Lintel is a "riveting production … that makes The Da Vinci Code seem like a game of hide-and- seek," the release notes. Venice Theatre is located at 140 W. Tampa Ave. Box office hours are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and one hour before all performances. AWARD-WINNING ACTOR GUERRERO TO STAR IN VENICE PRODUCTION Jeremy Guerrero will be the librarian in Venice Theatre's Underneath the Lintel. Contributed photo by Renee McVety. Sarasota News Leader March 7, 2014 Page 124