It’s 1910 in Dusseldorf, Germany. Off-stage, a pretty young wife, Louise, goes to see the Prussian king parade by her apartment building. A minor “wardrobe malfunction” occurs: the ribbons holding up her bloomers give way and her underpants fall to her ankles in the midst of the crowd. This sets in motion all sorts of absurd shenanigans.
Her straight-laced husband, a huge bull of a man named Theo, is aghast. What of his reputation? Has everyone seen his wife’s underpants? He prefers to blend in and has always worried that Louise is “much too attractive for a man in my position”. And now this! Will the scandal spread throughout the city? Will he lose his treasured job as a minor government clerk? Are they completely ruined?
It turns out that at least two men saw Louise’s little lingerie accident. Both are now besotted with her and are desperate to rent the extra bedroom Theo and Louise have been advertising. But neither of them are much of a romantic prize. One – an Italian poet named Versati – is so enamoured of his own words and the idea of romance that he can’t consummate Louise’s seduction. As he says with great satisfaction to the frustrated Louise, “My passion is set down on paper.” The other – a timid Jewish barber named Cohen (he protests that his name is spelt with a “K” and that he’s a thoroughly good German) – is a hypochondriac for whom jealousy is the strongest emotion.
A randy middle-aged spinster neighbour, Gertrude, eggs Louise on. She’s determined that Louise will have an affair, preferably with the poet, and will play fairy godmother to make this happen.
Louise is quickly persuaded by Gertrude to abandon marital fidelity, confirming her husband’s assertion that “desire adjusts morality”. Considering how unattractive her husband is, and the fact that she is “almost a virgin” despite a year’s marriage (he claims they can’t afford to have children yet), her weakness is understandable. As Gertrude says approvingly, “Lying, deception, treachery – you’re all grown up!”
All three men agree that womanly “flesh speaks to men” (Theo is particularly ribald in elaborating his theory of sexual attraction). To them, Louise is merely a dutiful wife or an object of desire. All three are fixated on defining what constitutes manly behaviour. This evidently was a major concern of the playwright, Carl Sternheim, who wrote the original play, Die Hose, in 1911. In 1911, the play was banned until the chief of police had assured himself it was not scandalous. A century afterwards, the relationship between the sexes is still an issue (as is anti-Semitism), but in his 2002 adaptation Steve Martin has transformed the play into a farce.
Theatre Kraken’s production of The Underpants has several things to recommend it. First of all, it’s quite funny. The audience on opening night laughed repeatedly, particularly at Theo’s pompous pronouncements. Matter of fact, Chris Lucas as the barrel-chested bureaucrat Theo suited the production to a “T”. Lawrence Evenchick was convincingly meek though obstinate as Cohen. Krista Marchand was delightful as busybody Gertrude. Chelsey Cowan made Louise’s increasing assertiveness credible. Allan Zander’s stilted mannerisms as the scientist Klinglehoff (another potential tenant of the apartment) were worthy of Stan Laurel. And his “no cellphones, no photos” announcement prior to the performance was a hoot.
Unfortunately, the director, Don Fex, chose to have Troy Ireland as Versati spend too much time pacing back and forth across the stage; that and Ireland’s floppy hairstyle are what I most remember about his character. And although I’m willing to suspend disbelief for a good farce, I found it distracting that Fex had all three potential tenants walk into the apartment without so much as a knock on the door. Moreover, I thought the last scene – was it an addition by Steve Martin? by Don Fex? – was too ridiculous even for a farce.
Nevertheless, this is a worthy farce with some spicy bits and a goodly sprinkling of Steve Martin’s erudite humour.
The Underpants is at The Gladstone until Jan.23, 2016. For scheduling info and tickets, click here.
