On Stage — The Underpants
Fifteen Minutes of Fame
Accidental fame is a recurring theme in the work of Steve Martin, who adapted The Underpants for modern theatergoers. The play takes place in a pre-World War I German village. The wife of a civil servant is observing a passing parade when she is accidentally “on parade” herself as her drawstring bloomers give way and fall to the ground — just as the king is passing by. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Martin said that he changed the meaning of the play “from being a social commentary about the stupidity of the proletariat to sort of a discourse on momentary fame.” It is hard not to make a comparison between the play’s heroine and some of today’s starlets who are also frequently caught “accidentally” showing off their “unmentionables.”

Some of the more notorious "fifteen minutes of fame" today are those that seem suspiciously orchestrated to appear accidental, such as the “discovery” of videotapes featuring Paris Hilton or Pamela Anderson in compromising positions. But the most famous recent example is, of course, Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” during her Super Bowl half-time performance in 2004. It was a stark reminder that, although we have progressed from the conservative days of “respectable” women not showing off ankles or wrists, showing too much in the wrong environment still sparks heated debate among media vultures. “At least with Jackson there was talent involved,” Martin says on the topic of what soon became known as “Nipplegate.”

Accident or no, the infatuation with the idea of spying “forbidden fruit” is timeless. The idea of a peek is almost better than the whole of what lies underneath very strategically placed swaths of clothing. Just ask Cher or Jennifer Lopez, two women who clearly know how to use provocative clothing to exploit their “hidden talents.”

While European beaches are lined with topless women every day of the summer, bare-breasted women in the United States are branded as “Girls Gone Wild.” These spring break beauties probably never considered the long-term consequences of their shenanigans until former Miss Universe Tara Rees was stripped of her title after photographs of her baring it all in a bar four years earlier were posted on the internet. The scandal immediately fueled the nation’s gossip rags, entertainment programs, late night television and even network news for days after it occurred.

But the most interesting aspect of this fascination is how one-sided it is. If the roles were reversed, would Steve Martin have signed on to adapt a play about a Scot whose kilt blows up before the Queen of England? In The Underpants, men fly from all directions after witnessing an event that “lasted two seconds!” The women in the play, however, long for the extended opportunities that the event created; something more than a peep show, they crave romance, the passion of a forbidden affair, a protracted escape from the too well-known and all too mundane lives they lead.

In an article about why female nudity is so much more popularly celebrated than male nudity, sex psychotherapist William F. Fitzgerald states, “men are more visually erotic animals than women,” and women “are typically more into romance — that implies more performance. Women want an erotic story line, as opposed to the bottom line for guys.”

Whatever the reasons, Martin has latched on to something we’re more than happy to laugh about and in mixed company. Tomorrow, as surely as yesterday, will bring more photos and more gasps as another starlet leaves little to the imagination and another E! News reporter exposes how little lies between his ears – and we will all be momentarily captivated by both. Richard Stayton of the Los Angeles Times states that Martin may just be “a comic-realist holding a mirror up to our notoriety-obsessed society.” Stayton may well have hit the nail on the proverbial head.

Drop Your Drawers (off) at PCS to Help the Homeless
Throughout the run of Steve Martin’s The Underpants, Portland Center Stage is conducting an underpants “drive” to collect new, packaged underpants for the homeless. It’s a gift everyone needs that is too often forgotten during the holidays. Please bring your contribution to the cause in the form of new, packaged underpants, of any variety, when you come to see the show. This effort will only be as significant as you make it, so don’t forget to buy a pair for the homeless next time you’re in the department store and bring them on over to the Armory. Please don’t take them out of the original packaging, but don’t bother wrapping them, unless you’ll feel better carrying them down the street that way! We’ll take care of the rest in seeing that the undies get to the kind people at Rose Haven and St. Vincent De Paul’s Downtown Chapel who will share them with those in need.

Theo Maske (David Watson) takes advantage of his wife Louise's Sunday morning trip to church by trying to convince his neighbor Gertrude (Sharonlee McLean) to model silky pink bloomers in Steve Martin's The Underpants. Photo by Owen Carey.

Throughout the run of Steve Martin’s The Underpants, Portland Center Stage is conducting an underpants “drive” to collect new, packaged underpants for the homeless.