Cast pleases in ‘Underpants’

By Rachel Wedding
Special to the Tribune-Star

June 26, 2008 06:03 pm

— At first glance, it might seem irrelevant in this day and age to make much ado about a woman who loses her underwear in public.
That’s until you consider the ever-controversial Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake Super Bowl halftime performance, the highly anticipated annual Victoria’s Secret runway shows broadcast on cable television, or the countless headlines about Hollywood starlets hastily exiting vehicles and flashing their netherworld nakedness to eager photographers.
Nearly a century after Carl Sternheim wrote the play “Die Hose,” Steve Martin adapted for modern stages the story that examines events that transpire after a young housewife waved to the king at a parade and unintentionally dropped her pants.
In it, Louise (Amy Attaway) becomes a hometown celebrity of sorts drawing would-be suitors to inquire about the room she and her husband (Mark Douglas-Jones) have for rent. Among the suitors are a slick poet (Brandon Wentz) and a timid Jewish barber (Andy Rabensteine) who are so overcome by her, um, beauty, that they undertake a battle for her attention.
Martin’s adaptation gives strength to the argument that audiences can still be entertained by the simplistic notion of a woman’s wayward panties, and with the current Crossroads Repertory Theatre Company production, director Laura Riddle doesn’t tiptoe into the discussion.
The production, set in Germany in the early 1900s, is introduced to audiences with song choices that could be mistaken for R-rated versions of preschool television show theme songs. We continue down a path that seems slightly askew as the two main characters spend two-and-a-half hours telling jokes while dressed like Hansel and Gretel in Holocaust-era Germany.
Riddle took a risk by having her cast milk Martin’s script for every laugh it was worth, and while her efforts were generally successful, at times the milk ran a bit dry.
While Douglas-Jones, who in summer seasons past has deftly demonstrated his acting skills, we wonder with this production if we haven’t already seen the best he has to offer. His Theo is amazingly similar to his Sir of last season’s “Roar of the Greasepaint,” or was it his Torvald in “A Doll House” of an earlier season? At times, Douglas-Jones simply finds nothing left in his bag of tricks when it comes to expressing his angst.
Attaway faltered only occasionally in her journey from the timid dutiful wife to the sexually deprived temptress. She revels in the discovery of her libido and takes the audience with her during key moments – particularly when she pleads with Versati to have his way with her.
While Rabensteine, likewise, had some moments of inconsistency as the whiny but eager barber, impeccable comic timing and standout performances from Wentz and Julie Dixon balanced any shortcomings of the production. As Louise’s nosy neighbor friend, Dixon’s stilted delivery of the braided, bucksome and disturbingly desirable Gertrude occasionally had the effect of Ethel Merman without a song. But her performance shined, nonetheless.
And Wentz, who returns to Indiana State University for his seventh summer season, gives such an expert rendering of the self- and sex-absorbed poet that we hate to see him exit the stage. If this superb performance is a foreshadow of what we can expect from him in the lead role of “Macbeth” later in the season, it will be a performance you won’t want to miss.
Extra credit goes to Riddle for drawing from her actors the quick-paced energy this script demands. While a farcical romp around sexual innuendo, anti-Semitism, elitism and chauvinism might offend the sensibilities of more sophisticated theater-goers, Riddle’s skillful direction helps us make the most of it.
“The Underpants” continues with 7:30 p.m. performances July 9, 18, 24 and 26. To reserve tickets, telephone the ISU New Theater ticket office at (812) 237-3334.