The Underpants : A Play by Carl Sternheim

Rating:
Summary: Not your typical Steve Martin
Review: I confess to not being familiar with the original German version of the play, but I appreciate the fact that Steve Martin was, and that he was in turn appreciative enough to think that it warranted an adaptation. Especially in an age where non-musical theater seems to be veering toward sentimentality or else trying too hard to prove itself to be edgy, it's great to read a play where the name of the game is as it always has been and should be - entertainment through engaging characters and interesting plot lines.

The play itself is very funny and retains enough of the "Old World" flavor to make it a unique piece of work when combined with the sensibilities of a sharp-witted writer like Martin. There were short sequences where the "old" Steve Martin humor snuck out, but overall he was very careful to present a new side of his taste that is as different from his other plays as his more recent films have been from his stand-up.

Rating:
Summary: "Underpants" doesn't quite have the complete Martin kick.
Review: Perhaps that's because "Underpants" is an adaptation of a 1910 comedy by Carl Sternheim.

The play is really about bored housewife Louise Maske, who is at a parade to see the king when her underpants fall down to her ankles. The event scandalizes her boorish husband Theo, who frets over what this could mean to his piddly job.

In no time, however, a couple smitten men who happened to witness the event turn up to try to rent out the single room, in hopes of getting closer to Louise. She finds herself taken with the idea of an affair with charismatic poet Versati, but sickly, lovesick Cohen keeps getting in their way.

What follows is an apparent comedy of errors, but either these particular issues don't translate well to the 2000s or, more likely, Martin's words meant for the stage don't necessarily translate well to the page.

Unless one is a diehard Martin fan, there's no reason to sift through the play over and over in order to appreciate it (although multiple readings do help). It's more bland than bad, though. But nothing of the quality of Martin's other works, like "Shopgirl" or the fantastic "Picasso at the Lapin Agile." Not even of his Academy Award hosting stints. (Remember the line "I took a 9-year-old kid to see 'Gladiator,' and he cried through the entire film. But maybe it's because he didn't know who I was."?)

In fact, there's really only one time it is certain that Martin is in the house, when Gertrude, Louise's busybody neighbor, announces that she has just come from the theater, to see a play by Sternheim.

Louise: "Should I see it?"

Gertrude: "Wait till it's adapted."

Rating:
Summary: These Underpants Don't Stink
Review: This play was wonderfully written. Although short, it was laugh out loud funny, and delightfully racy! Steve Martin once again shows his comic genius in the adaptation of Carl Sternheim's play.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but does not have the depth as other plays
Review: This play, adapted by Steve Martin from a crazy old German farce almost 100 years old, is fresh, bawdy, smart, and really really funny. Anyone who loves Steve Martin's literate-kooky mind will adore this! It was a hit in New York last year. It should be done at every theater around the country, and soon!