Chester Theatre Company and Springfield Jewish Community Center will present a joint benefit performance of Glen Berger's engaging, intelligent, humorous and unforgettable Underneath The Lintel at Springfield's CityStage on Sunday, April 11, 2010 at 2:00pm. The performance will be followed by a conversation with the play's star, John Shuman and director Byam Stevens, Artistic Director of Chester Theatre Company.
Underneath The Lintel, hailed by Seattle Weekly as "one of the great plays written in the last five years... an astonishingly beautiful piece of writing," is the story of a spiritual quest told by the most unlikely of narrators. The play opens with the Librarian (John Shuman) discovering a book that has been returned 113 years overdue. Tracking down the delinquent book borrower takes the Librarian on an around-the-world odyssey. As he collects evidence, not only is the culprit's identity gradually revealed, but the Librarian also experiences a spiritual re-awakening that is surprising, amusing and totally unexpected.
John Shuman is a native of Springfield who fondly recalls the many afternoons spent in the Springfield JCC swimming pool. His acting credits include the Broadway productions of La Cage Aux Folles and 13 Rue de L'Amour; the Off-Broadway productions of The Fantasticks, Hot l Baltimore, and Moonchildren; and productions at the Guthrie Theatre, Yale Repertory, and Houston's Alley Theatre, and the CTC production of The Dishwashers.
Tickets are: $50 Orchestra, $35 Balcony, $100 Preferred Seating and Post-Show Reception. Proceeds will support the programming of the Springfield Jewish Community Center and Chester Theatre Company. For more information go to: for tickets, call 413-354-7771.
