‘The Underpants’ has style, but absolutely no substance
By: Doug Krentzlin
Special to The Examiner
October 1, 2008
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| Allison McLemore and Bruce Nelson star in Steve Martin’s “The Underpants” at Olney Theatre Center. -- Courtesy Photo |
OLNEY — “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” comedian Steve Martin’s debut as a playwright, was a pleasant surprise, an off-the-wall bit of inspired nuttiness that recalled the Marx Brothers at their best. Unfortunately, his second play, “The Underpants,” an adaptation of German writer Carl Sternheim’s comedy “Die Hose,” is a major disappointment. Now playing at Olney Theatre Center, “The Underpants” is a joyless, methodical, by-the-numbers, “not now, here comes my husband” sex farce that couldn’t be more bland or predictable.
Set in 1910 Düsseldorf, “The Underpants” starts with Louise Maske (Allison McLemore) creating a minor scandal due to her title garments falling to her feet while watching a parade as the king of Germany rides by, an incident that takes place off-stage just before the play opens. Her domestic bully of a husband, Theo (James Beneduce), is outraged and fears that his position as a government clerk is imperiled.
This is just the beginning. Louise soon finds herself being courted by two suitors, flamboyant Italian poet Frank Versati (Jeffries Thaiss) and milquetoast Jewish barber Benjamin Cohen (Bruce Nelson), both of whom pose as boarders wanting to rent the Maskes’ spare room. (Cohen keeps insisting to the anti-Semitic Theo that his last name is spelled with a “K.”) All the while, Louise is being egged on to commit adultery by her sex-starved neighbor Gertrude (Joan Rosenfels), who yearns for a vicarious thrill.
Despite all the buildup, nothing really happens, though. This is farce at its most timid and antiseptic, all foreplay with no real payoff. The flair for equally silly and cerebral comic banter that Martin demonstrated in “Picasso” is nowhere to be found in “The Underpants,” just a collection of clichés and unfunny stereotypes.
Director John Going usually displays a deft touch for light comedy; here, however, the sheer vapidness of the material defeats him. Likewise, the cast is given virtually nothing to work with. The production has the usual Olney gloss, especially James Wolk’s set, but no amount of technical expertise can disguise the fact that “The Underpants” is a feeble excuse for a comedy.
If you go
Olney Theatre Center’s production of “The Underpants” runs through Oct. 19.
Venue: Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney
Performances: 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday; 7:30 p.m. Sunday; 2 p.m. Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday
Tickets: $25 to $48
More info: 301-924-3400 or olneytheatre.org
