They see London, they see France: Adobe Theater presents Steve Martin's 'Underpants'
From left, Kelly Hughes, Brent Whitted, Sarah Kesselring, Myles Hughes and Drew Groves in 鈥淭he Underpants鈥� at The Adobe Theater.
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The Adobe Theater is ready to drop their drawers.
鈥溾�楾he Underpants,鈥� as probably evidenced by the name, is a very silly, goofy bedroom farce,鈥� said director Tanner Sroufe.
The play is comedian Steve Martin鈥檚 loose adaptation of German playwright Carl Sternheim鈥檚 1910 farce of the same name (鈥淒ie Hose鈥� in German).
鈥淚 think the bulk of the dialogue is Steve Martin,鈥� Sroufe said, 鈥渂ut the basic story comes from Carl Sternheim.鈥�
That story centers on Louise Maske, the wife of a government clerk, who loses her underpants while watching a royal parade. Zaniness ensues.
From his early 鈥淪aturday Night Live鈥� performances to his New Yorker humor columns, Martin is known for mixing lowbrow comedic elements with cerebral wit.
鈥淚 would say this play tends toward the silly and zany, but it has 鈥� especially with certain characters 鈥� that sophistication, as well,鈥� Sroufe said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 typical Steve Martin fare. Very goofy, very over-the-top. There鈥檚 a lot of physical comedy. And, like I said, it鈥檚 a bedroom farce, so it centers around the romantic relationships between the characters.鈥�
鈥淭he Underpants鈥� is Sroufe鈥檚 second directorial effort.
鈥淭he first one was 鈥楥lue鈥� at Hold the Applause Productions 鈥� another farce, a little bit more well-known than 鈥楾he Underpants,鈥欌�� Sroufe said. 鈥淚 loved it, and I fell in love with directing.鈥�
Sroufe said he鈥檚 鈥渕ore confident鈥� the second time around, and he plans to do 鈥渁 lot more directing in the future.鈥�
He also said the talented actors he鈥檚 working with make his job easy.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a small cast of five, and it鈥檚 been an absolute dream to work with each and every one of them,鈥� Sroufe said. 鈥淪arah Kesselring is the primary actor. She plays Louise, and she鈥檚 so good.鈥�
鈥淚n most of the scenes, she鈥檚 kind of the 鈥榮traight man,鈥� and the goofiness happens around her. She does such a good job of keeping those scenes grounded,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think people don鈥檛 realize that comedy has all the same requirements of drama. You still have to go to those emotionally vulnerable places. You still have to play the role realistically and earnestly.鈥�
Certain comedic elements in Sroufe鈥檚 production were happy accidents. For instance, he said he had originally planned to make a large sofa the centerpiece of the set, but they began rehearsing with a much smaller piece of furniture as a stand-in, which ended up being much funnier.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a chaise lounge, and it鈥檚 about two sizes too small for everybody. It鈥檚 not child size, but it鈥檚 almost child size. And there鈥檚 a lot of action. There鈥檚 people laying on that couch, there鈥檚 people sitting next to each other on that couch who barely fit. There鈥檚 people falling off of that couch,鈥� Sroufe said. 鈥淪o, I decided to keep it for the show, because it made me laugh so much during rehearsal, I couldn鈥檛 imagine doing it without it.鈥�
He also said that, due to budgetary and space constraints, he had to limit the play鈥檚 action to a single room. Doing so, he said, created the feeling of a 鈥渄oor farce,鈥� where the characters鈥� many entrances and exits add extra humor in the scenes.
Sroufe cautioned that 鈥淭he Underpants鈥� may not be appropriate for all audiences.
鈥淭he show is PG-13, so I wouldn鈥檛 recommend it for little kids,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a bedroom comedy, a sex comedy, and the whole show is slathered in innuendo from top to bottom.鈥�
