''The Underpants'' is the most recent adaptation of the 1910 German farce '' Die Hose'' by the playwright

Carl Sternheim Carl Sternheim (born William Adolph Carl Francke; 1 April 1878 – 3 November 1942) was a German playwright and short story writer. One of the major exponents of German Expressionism, he especially satirized the moral sensibilities of the emergi ...

. The adaptation was written by

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominated ...

. It was produced at New York City's

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

theater

Classic Stage Company Classic Stage Company, or CSC, is a classical Off-Broadway theater. Founded in 1967, Classic Stage Company is one of Off-Broadway's oldest theaters. Its 199-seat theatre is the former Abbey Theatre located at 136 East 13th Street between Third a ...

from April 4, 2002 through April 28, 2002. The play, a "farcical send-up of bourgeois snobbery and conformity" was directed by Barry Edelstein and featured Cheryl Lynn Bowers and Byron Jennings as Louise and Theo Maske.

Other productions

The play has been produced at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles (March - April 2004) and at the Arden Theatre in Philadelphia (September - October 2004. More recent productions include: * Brüka Theatre (Reno, Nevada), November 11, 2005 - February 4, 2006, directed by Brian Barney. * Showcase Theatre, Exeter, Pa. 2005 *

Alley_Theatre The Alley Theatre is a Tony Award-winning theatre company in Houston, Texas. It is the oldest professional theatre company in Texas and the third oldest resident theatre in the United States. Alley Theatre productions have played on Broadway at L ...

, Houston, April 1–24, 2005 *

The Old Red Lion, Islington The Old Red Lion is a pub and fringe theatre, at Angel, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre was founded in 1979 as the Old Red Lion Theatre Club. The pub was Grade II listed in 1994 by Historic England. History Construction The p ...

, London, UK, October 24 - November 18, 2006, directed by Richard Braine *

University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI offers more than 90 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences and grad ...

, Cedar Falls, Iowa, June 6–8, 2008, directed by Jay Edelnant * Langhorne Players, Newtown, PA, April 17 - May 2, 2009, directed by Alice Weber *

University of Adelaide Theatre Guild The University of Adelaide Theatre Guild is a South Australian not-for-profit amateur theatre companyHibberd, M, 2012, About the Theatre Guild, http://www.adelaide.edu.au/theatreguild/about/ based on the North Terrace campus of the University ...

, Adelaide, Australia, May 9–23, 2009 directed by John Wells *

First Presbyterian Theater First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

, Fort Wayne, Indiana, June 4–20, 2009, directed by Joel D. Scribner * Princeton Summer Theater, Princeton, New Jersey, August 6–16, 2009, directed by Shawn Fennell *

Rockford College Rockford or Rockfords may refer to: Places United States * Rockford, Illinois, a city, the largest municipality of this name *Rockford, Alabama, a town * Rockford, Idaho, a census-designated place * Rockford metropolitan area, Illinois, a United St ...

, Artists' Ensemble Theatre, Rockford, Illinois, September 9–26, 2011, directed by Richard Raether * Shore School Drama Studio, Sydney, Australia, November 18–21, 2009, directed by Rachel Blake *

The University of Scranton The University of Scranton is a private Jesuit university in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1888 by William O'Hara, the first Bishop of Scranton, as St. Thomas College. In 1938, the college was elevated to university status and took ...

Players - December 3–6, 2009 *

The University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Mississi ...

, Oxford, Mississippi, USA, February 16–21, 2009, directed by Rory Ledbetter. * Dearborn Heights Civic Theater, Dearborn Heights, Michigan- February 20–22 + 26-27 2010, directed by Cynthia Frabutt http://www.dhctstage.org/ *

Penobscot Theatre Company Penobscot Theatre Company (PTC), is located in Bangor, Maine. In 1973, George Vafiadis founded the Acadia Repertory Company, which spun off the Penobscot Theatre Company ten years later. Joe Turner Cantu became Artistic Director in 1990 and rema ...

, Bangor, Maine, USA, May 26 - June 30, 2010, directed by Nathan Halvorson *

The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey Stockton University is a public university in Galloway Township, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. It is named for Richard Stockton, one of the New Jersey signers of the U.S. Declaration of Independence ...

, Galloway Township, New Jersey—November 17–20, 2010, directed by Pamela Hendrick * Chung Ying Theatre Company, Hong Kong, April 1–10, 2011, directed by Gabriel Lee http://www.chungying.com *

Salem State University Salem State University (Salem State or SSU) is a public university in Salem, Massachusetts. Established in 1854, it is the oldest and largest institute of higher education on the North Shore and is part of the state university system in Massa ...

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

, Massachusetts—Spring 2011, directed by Britt Mitchell, assistant directed by Emily Laverdiere and Kevin Murphy Walunas * Pentacle Theatre, Salem, Oregon, July 15-August 6, 2011, directed by Jenni Bertels *

National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts is based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, many of Australia's leading actors and directors trained at NIDA, including Cat ...

, Sydney, Australia, 22 - 25, 27 June 2011, directed by Craig Ilott *

McPherson College McPherson College is a private college associated with the Church of the Brethren and located in McPherson, Kansas. It was chartered in 1887 and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. History During their 1887 Annual Meeting, the Ch ...

, McPherson, Kansas, October 2011, directed by Jd. Bowman *Waterloo Community Playhouse,

Waterloo, Iowa Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census the population was 67,314, making it the eighth-largest city in the state. The city is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls ...

, May 11-19, 2012, directed by Charles Stilwill *

Los Medanos College Los Medanos College (LMC) is a public community college in Pittsburg, California. Established in 1974, LMC has an extension in Brentwood and is part of the Contra Costa Community College District. History The name, meaning "inland sand dunes ...

, Pittsburg, California, March, 6 - 9, 11, 13 - 15, 2013, directed by Nick Garcia *

Florida Studio Theatre Florida Studio Theatre (FST) is a professional, non-profit theater company located in Sarasota, Florida and represents one of the major cultural institutions in the Gulf Coast region. Founded in 1973 as a touring troupe, FST is currently a region ...

, Sarasota, Florida, June 26 - July 28, 2013, directed by Bruce Jordan * Epic Shit Entertainment, New Delhi, India, February 14–24, 2013, adapted and directed by Madhav Mehta *Hartford Stage, Hartford, Connecticut, January 9 - February 9, 2014, directed by Gordon Edelstein *

Syracuse Stage Syracuse Stage is a professional non-profit theater company in Syracuse, New York, United States. It is the premier professional theater in Central New York. It was founded in 1974 by Arthur Storch, who was its first artistic director. The comp ...

, Syracuse, New York, October 21 - November 8, 2015, directed by Bill Fennelly *The Collective Face Theatre Ensemble, Savannah, Georgia, December 4–20, 2015 * Acrosstown Repertory Theatre,

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gaine ...

, June 3–19, 2016, directed by Jessica Arnold. * Fauquier Community Theater,

Warrenton, VA Warrenton is a town in Fauquier County, Virginia, of which it is the seat of government. The population was 9,611 at the 2010 census, up from 6,670 at the 2000 census. The estimated population in 2019 was 10,027. It is at the junction of U.S. R ...

, January 27-February 12, 2017, directed by Scott J. Strasbaugh. * American Repertory Theater of Western New York,

Buffalo, NY Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, March 9 - April 1, 2017, directed by Jeff Coyle. *

The University of Wisconsin ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

Madison, WI Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-large ...

, April 13-April 30, 2017, directed by Scott Cummins. *

Armstrong State University Armstrong may refer to: Places * Armstrong Creek (disambiguation), various places Antarctica * Armstrong Reef, Biscoe Islands Argentina * Armstrong, Santa Fe Australia * Armstrong, Victoria Canada * Armstrong, British Columbia * Armstrong, O ...

Savannah, GA Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...

, July 13–16, 2017, Masquers Performance Directed by Geoffrey Douglas *Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, December 2017 *

Murray State University Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, H ...

Murray, KY Murray is a home rule-class city in Calloway County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of Calloway County and the 19th-largest city in Kentucky. The city's population was 17,741 during the 2010 U.S. census, and its micropolitan area's po ...

, April 25–28, 2019, directed by Matthew Crider *Bergen County Players, Oradell, NJ, May 14-22, 2022 *Sonnentag Theatre at the Ice House, Mount Dora, FL, May 12 - June 4, 2023

References

* * ''Die Hose'' at Deutsch Wikipedia (German language)
Seaside Repertory Theatre's 2007 Production

Description and reviews of performance by BareBones Theatre Group

2006 London Production at Old Red Lion

Google Books page for ''The Underpants''

Florida Studio Theatre's 2013 production of ''The Underpants''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Underpants, The Plays by Steve Martin 2002 plays