12 Peers Theater to Present Pittsburgh Premiere of UNDERNEATH THE LINTEL, 2/5-26

12 Peers Theater presents the Pittsburgh Premiere of Glen Berger's Underneath The Lintel. Underneath the Lintel performs February 5 - 26, 2014 at Pittsburgh Playwrights Theater, 937 Liberty Avenue, 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, Penn.

"Would you know a miracle if you saw one?"

The Librarian in Glen Berger's Underneath The Lintel doesn't merely ponder this question, he is confronted by it - in the form of a library book returned 113 years overdue.

Randy Kovitz, as The Librarian, leads us through an existential detective story, an obsessive search for the library offender that takes him out of his orderly, insular world and on a globe-trotting, possibly quixotic quest. In the process, The Librarian discovers a string of "evidences," some dating back thousands of years, finding connections to mysteries and myths, past and present, as well as his own dormant spirit.

Kovitz saw the author do a reading of it in New York in 2009, and knew immediately that he wanted to make it his own.

"The play spoke to me on a deep level as both an actor and a human being. The central questions of life and death, purpose versus futility, are universal. But the artistry of the writing makes it exciting and accessible."

About the Performer: Underneath The Lintel is a solo show, but it is hardly Kovitz's first time alone on a stage. Pittsburgh theatregoers might remember his well-reviewed 2007 music and spoken word performance, Happy to Be Here and its 2009 follow up, Still Happy to Be Here.

In Los Angeles in the 1990's, he fronted the spoken word band, Lies Like Truth, a legacy of his earlier one-man show, Grizly Cargo.

Kovitz grew up in California, but his Pittsburgh connections are strong. He attended Carnegie Mellon University and worked in several productions at WQED, appeared in Dawn of the Dead and Knightriders for George Romero, and was a member of the resident company City Players, now known as City Theater. After many years working in New York and Los Angeles, he returned to Pittsburgh in 2005, working in over 20 local productions in his first three years here.

Recently he has been active in film and television, appearing on Parks and Recreation, Supah Ninjas, The Fault In Our Stars and a number of homegrown projects, including his own short film Lightweight, which has won awards at several film festivals.

As a fight director, Randy stages violence for many theaters in town, as well as in film and video projects. Randy also teaches acting at the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama and leads intensive private acting workshops.

Show dates: Wednesday -Saturday, February 5 - 8, 8 p.m.; Thursday - Saturday, February 13 -15, 8 p.m.; Monday & Tuesday, February 17 & 18, 8 p.m.; Monday - Wednesday, February 24, 25 & 26 8 p.m.; *Monday, February 17 is industry, pay what you can night. Tickets: $15 / $10 with student ID at the door. For more information, visit 12peerstheater.org.

About the Playwright: Glen Berger is a prolific, Emmy and Ovation award-winning playwright, known most notably as Julie Taymor's co-writer for the Broadway Musical adaptation of Spiderman. Lately he has been in the news for his tell-all book The Song of Spider-Man: The Inside Story of the Most Controversial Musical in Broadway History.

About the Company: 12 Peers Theater was founded in 2011. Taking the name from the Twelve Peers of Charlemagne, its mission is to provide challenging and engaging theater for Pittsburgh audiences. 12 Peers Theater highlights social, political, and ethical issues in classical and contemporary works exploring myth and cultural identity, endeavoring to open a dialogue with the audience.

12 Peers Theater presented a reading of Underneath the Lintel with Kovitz in June 2012. On the strength of that reading and audience responses, Founding Artistic Director Vince Ventura and Producing Artistic Director Sara Fisher decided to include it this year in their third full season.