The Underpants
In 1910, playwright Carl Sterheim wrote "Die Hosen," a light-hearted social satire about a pretty young wife who accidentally drops her drawers while watching a Dusseldorf parade. She was straining to see the Kaiser as he galloped by (and she recovered them in seconds!), but the ramifications of
this innocent incident spread like wild fire through Germany's rigid code of conduct.
In 2002, Steve Martin adapted Sternheim's comedy into a full-blown farce which he aptly named "The Underpants." Full of double entendres and contemporary references, it's written in Martin's inimitable style which his fans will recognize immediately..
Which brings us to today (nine years later), when Craig Fleming adds his singular touch to this century-old chicanery. Under Fleming's direction, an outstanding cast races like clock-work through Sternheim's cockamamie plot in the Long Beach Playhouse Studio Theatre.
All the nonsense takes place in the Dusseldorf apartment of Theo and Louise. (Naomi Kasahava designed the knock-out, working class set, which is enhanced by Matthew Makulka's light design.) As for the cast, it's top-notch. Mitchell Nunn is the epitome of Theo--a middle-aged, no-nonsense, government clerk who lives by the book. His life is consumed by fulfilling his duties at work, paying his bills, and being respectable. Maranda Barskey is delightful as Louise--his young, naive, beautiful, well-behaved wife who is dying of boredom and marital restrictions.
Everything begins when Louise returns home after the "unspeakable incident." Although she is worried about what happened, it all took place so quickly she's certain no one noticed. But Theo is apoplectic! Never mind about his wife; "the unspeakable" could cost him his job, his reputation, his respect. They might lose their apartment and be thrown out on the street. Suddenly an idea breaks through his doldrums: "We'll rent the spare room and prepare for the worse."
Theo may be in a panic, but Gertrude (the nosey upstairs neighbor and Louise's best friend), is tickled-pink (Jane Nunn's performance is hysterical). As she tells Louse: "It's about time you got out of your prison and had some fun." And off she goes to sew the sexiest pair of bloomers on earth.
Then one by one, men show up to rent the room--all of whom had witnessed what happened. There's Versati (Brian Rohan is a hoot), the would-be romantic poet who wants Louise as his muse. There's Cohen with a K (Jeff Asch channels Nathan Lane as a nebbish barber who wants to save Louise from "that dirty, filthy poet"). There's Klingelhoff (John Gilbert as an introverted, agoraphobic scientist); and there's the Kaiser himself (Steven Biggs).
What happens when all these "perfect gentlemen" show up to rent one room turns into a satiric spoof that rips hypocrisy wide open. "The Underpants" continues at the Long Beach Playhouse Studio Theatre, 5021 E. Anaheim on Thursday-Saturday @ 8:00 and Sunday @ 2:00 through Sept. 10. For tickets call (562) 494-1914 or on line at www.lbplayhouse.org