Panties twist
By MICHAEL SMITH, 3/3/2005
Theater Club presents "The Underpants," Steve Martin's adaptation of a century-old German farce. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World
Theater flooded with unmentionables for staging of 'The Underpants'
Skivvies, panties, drawers, undies -- you name it and Theater Club has got it. Men's and women's, black and white, boxers and briefs, lacy thongs and a pair of size 100 world's largest.
Audiences will see them all on stage beginning Thursday when director George Romero and stage designer Devin Meadows unveil how they dressed the set for "The Underpants," Steve Martin's recent adaptation of a century-old German farce.
The company asked the public to donate its undergarments for this purpose, and soon the troupe was standing in tall cotton. But there were a lot of questions.
"Are you serious? Am I going to get them back? Are you going to tell people whose they are?" Romero remembered, laughing.
She was serious. No, they won't be returned because many are being cut up to provide more set coverage. And the prior owners will be, well, unmentionable.
But Romero expects to see many of them make an appearance at the Nightingale Theater during the play's three-week run.
"The way that people mailed me stuff and friends proudly marched up to me with their little bag of underwear, saying, 'Here, I want to help,' I think they can't wait to see it again, so they can point out to their friends before the show, saying, 'See, up there, that's mine. I am part of the show.' "
This promotion is certainly a new method of selling tickets, or, in cheeky producer lingo, putting butts in the seats. Steve Martin's name being attached to the project shouldn't hurt, either.
His adaptation of Carl Sternheim's 1911 German farce tells of a bureaucrat's terrible embarrassment when his attractive but sexually neglected wife's underwear slips down around her ankles during the procession of the king.
The husband is terrified not only of scandal but even the slightest attention. Louise receives intense attention when two men who witnessed the bloomer drop are immediately smitten with her and show up to rent a spare room in the bureaucrat's home.
Monica Barczak, Mike Grove, Ray Martinez, Missy Childs, David Gray, Corey Douglas and Dwayne Thompson star in this play that could be interpreted as a take on sexual politics, a look at the 15-minutes-of-fame issue, or what Romero refers to simply as a comedy.
"It's snappy, witty, not so slapstick but very smart. It's got a bit of zoom, in a very savvy sort of way," the director said. "Working on it, we all have our favorite little bits, and we get them in our own certain way.
"I think people will be laughing at different points, whether it's the physical humor, or the more blatant innuendos, or some of the more well-read references, depending on a person's body of knowledge."
A comedy by Martin is a good draw in and of itself, but considering the play's voyeuristic theme and set, there's those who may show up at the theater simply out of bawdy curiosity.
"We had offers of brassieres (for the set design), but we politely declined," Romero said with a snicker. "This setting, it really sort of captures what we're working on every night.
"I'm just glad that people only sent in clean undies."
"THE UNDERPANTS"
Who:
Theater Club
When:
8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, also March 10-12, 17-19
Where:
Nightingale Theater, 1416 E. Fourth St.
Tickets:
$10, 557-8012, theatreclubtulsa@yahoo.com