The Underpants

Message from the Director: The Underpants is based on Die Hose, a play by Carl Sternheim (1878 -1942). It is part of a four-part series, From the Lives of Bourgeois Heroes. His plays were rarely produced in English until Steve Martin's adaptation of The Underpants premiered in 2002. Martin's other plays include Picasso at the Lapin Agile and The Traitor. Those are the facts.

Let's talk about the play.

The year is 1910. Welcome to the basement apartment of Theo & Louise Maske, in Dusseldorf, in the German Empire, a growing city about the size of Madison, WI. The town has a lively, optimistic air. Commerce is thriving, the Arts are cultivated and bourgeois society pulses with the anticipation of opportunity and wealth. The town is abuzz over the visit of His Royal Majesty, Kaiser Wilhelm II. Don't spoil the fun by telling the good burgers that he will be Germany's last King. If you tell them of the wars and devastation to come they will probably lock you up in a madhouse.

One might as well loaf a bit on the Lindenstrasse. The King's Parade is passing by here. You see that pretty young woman standing on the edge of the crowd? Her name is Louise Maske. She stands a-tip-toe to see the King riding by. What a glorious day! How could anything go wrong on such a day? Watch and enjoy Louise's misfortune and triumph.