Steve Martin's THE UNDERPANTS to Open Syracuse Stage's 2015-16 Season

Syracuse Stage's 15/16 Season starts October 21 with The Underpants, a guffaw inducing comedy from the wild and crazy mind of the incomparable Steve Martin. In Dusseldorf, 1910, a very public wardrobe malfunction (a young woman's underpants fall down at a parade-for the King!) becomes the talk of the town in this ribald update of an uproarious German farce. (Yes, there is such a thing.) Chock-full of sexual innuendo, verbal jousting, and non-stop laughter, The Underpants skewers the absurdity of instant fame. Bill Fennelly (Hairspray, A Midsummer Night's Dream) returns to direct.

The Underpants performs October 21-November 8 in the Archbold Theatre at the Syracuse Stage/Drama Complex, 820 East Genesee Street. The opening night performance is Friday, October 23 at 8 p.m. Tickets and info are available at www.syracusestage.org, by phone at 315-443-3275, and in person at the Syracuse Stage Box Office (Mon-Fri, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.). Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more at 315-443-9844. Discounts are also available for seniors, students, and U.S. military personnel and veterans. Sign interpretation, open captioning, and audio description services are available for select performances.

As a farce, The Underpants is fast-paced, very funny, and the stakes are very high for the characters. Director Bill Fennelly said that after first reading the play, he found it "laugh-out-loud funny" and could envision Steve Martin playing each role. Of the accomplished Syracuse Stage cast, Fennelly said, "They're so smart and extremely funny," and best of all, "they're not afraid to be total idiots."

The Underpants is one of two plays by Steve Martin. His other play, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, was produced by Syracuse Stage in 2009. A celebrated comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer, and musician, Martin first made his mark in show business as a writer for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and as a recurring guest on The Tonight Show. As an actor, he has appeared in many films including Father of the Bride, Parenthood, The Spanish Prisoner, and Bowfinger. His many accolades include Emmy, Grammy, and American Comedy Awards, as well as an honorary Oscar.

"What Steve Martin so humorously and expertly does is remind us that in the most human part of our hearts we all have very similar needs and desires, hopes, and fears," said Fennelly.

"Martin's The Underpants is many things. It is Steve Martin's adaptation of Carl Sternheim's 1911 scandalous and banned comedy Die Hose. It is a probing satire of social constructs, gender roles, moral sensibilities, and a male dominated political system. And of course it is a rollicking, door slamming, sex-farce. Yet, while all of these things are true, to me, most importantly and most immediately The Underpants is a play about marriage."

The Underpants cast includes Michael Brian Dunn (Benjamin Cohen), Marianna McClellan (Louise Maske), Tuck Milligan (Klingelhoff), Daniel Passer (Versati, The King), Sabrina Profitt (Gertrude Deuter), and Mark David Watson (Theo Maske).

Designers are William Bloodgood (Scenic), Raquel Barreto (Costumes), Thom Weaver (Lighting), and Sarah Pickett (Sound). The Stage Manager is Laura Jane Collins.

The Underpants sponsors are NBT Bank and Syracuse Symposium. The Media Sponsor is Business Journal News Network. The Syracuse Stage Season Sponsor is Syracuse Media Group.

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