North Coast Rep Presents San Diego Premiere of Steve Martin's Adaptation of THE UNDERPANTS, Now thru 9/30

North Coast Repertory Theatre presents a San Diego premiere of The Underpants, adapted by Steve Martin and written by Carl Sternheim. The show begins previews tonight, September 5th through 7th and continues September 8 through 30, 2012.

Adapting Carl Sternheim's 1910 comedy, Steve Martin has reinvigorated a hilarious, laugh-out-loud farce. Theobald Maske has an unusual problem: his wife's underpants won't stay on. One Sunday morning they fall to her ankles right in the middle of town...a public scandal! Mortified, Theo swears to keep her at home until she can find some less unruly undies. Amid this chaos he's trying to rent a room in their flat while the prospective lodgers have some underlying surprises of their own.

Ticket prices: $37 - $54 (Senior/Student & Military discount save $3.00 per ticket with valid I.D. off regular ticket prices. and North Coast Repertory Theatre subscribers save $5.00 off regular prices.)

Show times: All Previews are at 8:00pm. Regular show times are Wednesdays at 7:00pm, Thursday - Saturday at 8:00pm, Saturday & Sunday matinees at 2:00pm and Sunday evenings at 7:00pm.

Tickets for The Underpants are available only at North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach at 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Suite D, 92075. Box Office hours are Noon to 4PM daily and Noon to Curtain day of shows. Call 858-481-1055 for tickets or visit www.northcoastrep.org.

Featuring: Matthew Henerson*, Holly Rone*, Clarinda Ross*, Jacob Bruce*, Omri Schein* and Jonathan McMurtry*

*The actor or stage manger appears through the courtesy of Actor's Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers.

The writers of The Underpants are:

Steve Martin (Adaptor) Steve Martin was born in Waco, Texas on August 14, 1945. By high school, he was already performing comedy routines at local coffee houses, juggling, playing the banjo and doing magic tricks. After college Martin landed a job writing for "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" in 1967, winning an Emmy Award in 1969. During the 1970's, Martin was a fixture on the "Tonight Show" and "Saturday Night Live". Martin released several comedy albums including A Wild and Crazy Guy, which charted at #2 and featured the comic song "King Tut", which became a Top -Forty hit. He won Grammy Awards for "Best Comedy Recording" in 1977 and 1978. By the end of the1970's, Martin had achieved near "rock star" status selling out arenas for his live shows. Steve Martin's next foray was in film. His first, a seven-minute short that he wrote and starred in, was nominated for an Academy Award. In 1979, he wrote and starred in The Jerk, which was a critical and financial success. His film career remains strong. In the 1990's, Martin continued to make films, but also focused his attention on writing. In 1993, his play Picasso at the Lapin Agile, about a fictional meeting between Picasso and Einstein in a Paris Bar, won critical acclaim, as did his novella Shopgirl, which was recently made into a filM. Martin adaptEd Sternheim's The Underpants in 2002, which ran Off-Broadway at Classic Stage Company.

Carl Sternheim (Playwright) Carl Sternheim was born to a Jewish father and a Lutheran mother in Leipzig, Germany in 1878. While married to his first wife, Eugenie Hauth, he found his muse in another woman. Thea Lowenstein inspired and encouragEd Sternheim, and as an heiress, could afford to support his writing. He left his first wife, with whom he had a son, and married Thea in 1907. Through this marriage he met Franz Blei, with whom he began the journal Hyperion, where Franz Kafka's writing was first introduced to the masses. Thea and Blei also familiarized him with Molière's French farces, which later influenced his own satires. Through out his playwriting career Sternheim focused on a theme he knew well: the struggle to express and assert oneself within German bourgeois society. He wrote most of his best-known plays between 1911 and 1916. The Underpants (Die Hose), scheduled to open in 1911, was initially banned because its subject matter was too indelicate. Only after the chief of police attended a private viewing where actress Tilla Durieux could persuade him to reconsider did the show go up under the less racy title The Giant. It was Sternheim's first play in a four-part series about the Maske family titled From the Lives Bourgeois Heroes. Der Snob followed in 1914, 1913 in 1915 and later The Fossil in 1925. Together, the plays follow three generations of the Maske family as they maneuver through society's chutes and ladders, attempting to do as the Romans (or in this case, the Wilhelmine Germans) do. Sternheim suffered multiple "nervous illnesses" and had a complete nervous breakdown in 1928. He and Thea had divorced by 1927, and in 1930 he married his third wife, Pamela Wedekind, whom he would later divorce as well. Because of his Jewish descent and the bitingly satirical nature of his work, Sternheim's voice was silenced in Nazi Germany. He died in Brussels during World War II.

The cast of The Underpants includes:

Matthew Henerson* (Theobald Maske) Matthew is delighted to be making his NCRT debut. San Diego Audiences have seen him at the La Jolla Playhouse (Good Person of Szechwan), the San Diego Rep (Hamlet, King Lear, Romance, Brooklyn Boy), and Sledgehammer (Three Sisters.) In his native Los Angeles, he has worked at the Ahmanson, A Noise Within, Deaf West, East West Players, Furious Theatre Company, the Independent Shakespeare Company, International City Theatre, Main Street Theatre, and South Coast Repertory. Regionally he has performed at American Conservatory Theatre, American Citizens Theatre, American Musical Theatre of San Jose, Colorado Shakespeare, Grand Canyon Shakespeare, Marin Shakespeare, Northern Stage, San Francisco Shakespeare, San Jose Repertory, San Jose Stage Company, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Utah Shakespeare, Warehouse Repertory, and Women in Time. Film and Television work includes: "The Bernie Mac Show", "Hung", "Ticking Clock", "Torn Apart", "Mars Needs Moms", and Robert Zemeckis' "A Christmas Carol". Matt lives in Van Nuys with his wife Nancy and their daughter Miriam.

Holly Rone* (Louise Maske ) Before moving to San Diego, Holly lived and worked as an actress in NYC where she studied theatre at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy. Holly splits her time between working as an actress, and developing her and her husband's business (www.hgmusicmedia.com <http://www.hgmusicmedia.com> ). After taking a long hiatus from the stage, Holly is thrilled to be making her return in The Underpants. Some of her favorite credits include: Lou Ann (Hairspray 1st National Tour), Belle (Beauty and the Beast Flatrock Playhouse), Sheila (Hair European Tour), June (Chicago National Tour), Sister Mary Leo (Nunsense 2 Westchester Broadway) as well as many commercials, industrials, short films and features. Holly thanks her agents at The Shamon Freitas Agency, her husband Jesse and her wonderful family! "Welcome to San Diego Mom and Dad!!"

Clarinda Ross* (Gertrude Deuter) AEA, SAG, AFTRA. Ms. Ross performed at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, the ALLIANCE THEATRE (Atlanta), and The Alley Theatre (Houston). She also spent four years as a leading lady with the Atlanta Shakespeare. Ms. Ross authored two plays, honoring her southern heritage and inspired by true events; From My Grandmother's Grandmother Unto Me and Spit Like a Big Girl. Under the auspices of the NEA she toured the Grandmother play directed by David Thomas from Vidalia, Georgia to Lillehammer, Norway and many points in between. Clarinda starred in the film version of Grandmother for PBS directed by John David Allen. Her second play Spit Like a Big Girl, premiered as a part of the 2010 season at the Rubicon Theatre in Ventura, CA directed by Jenny Sullivan. In 2008 she had the honor of appearing with Linda Lavin and many members of the original Broadway cast of Hollywood Arms, in a remount by the legendary Carol Burnett, at the Pasadena Playhouse. Ms. Ross created the role of "Vivien" the drunken actress in Catherine Butterfield's The Sleeper winner of the Kaufman and Hart Award for Best New American Comedy. She had the pleasure of repeating "Viv" at the Laguna Playhouse directed by Andrew Barnicle. Clarinda made her film debut in Blue Sky (the last film directed by Sir Tony Richardson) with Jessica Lange and Tommy Lee Jones. Other features include; Flipped by Rob Reiner and Fluke by Italian director, Carlo Carlei. Her episodic television credits include: "The United States of Tara", "Medium", "The District", "The Drew Carey Show", "Judging Amy", "E.R.", "The Client", "NewsRadio", "Days of Our Lives", "In The Heat of The Night", and "I'll Fly Away". She's also appeared in several movies of the week, most notably the Emmy award-winning Stolen Babies with Mary Tyler Moore. A veteran of numerous commercials, racing fans may recognize her as the "NASCAR" mom. Ms. Ross is on the National Council of Actors' Equity Association. She is married to the actor Googy Gress and they have three children Clara, Frank and Gus, www.clarindaross.com

Jacob Bruce* (Frank Versati) Jacob Bruce graduated from the University of Illinois with a BFA in acting. He appeared in plays around the city of Chicago including All In The Timing, Orlando in As You Like It, Rev. Hale in The Crucible, Jed Rowan in The Kentucky Cycle, and The Creature in Playing With Fire. He then moved to Los Angeles and landed recurring roles on the shows "Crossing Jordan", " The Young and The Restless, "Roswell", and episodes of shows including ""ER", "Las Vegas", "Standoff" and "American Dreams". Jacob was also in the award-winning films Donut Run and Night of the Dog, the Hallmark MOW Prairie Fever, and the horror feature The Rig (now on cable!). As a member of the Knightsbridge Theatre in Los Angeles, Jacob played Randle P. McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a "Critic's Pick" in BackStage West and co-created The $5 Only Improv Show, and logged more than 300 improv shows with The Original Understudies. In San Diego he was in Yellow Face and 26 miles with the Mo'olelo Performing Arts Company and the short film Genie Boot Camp for which he won Best Actor at the San Diego 48 Hour Film Festival. Jacob is currently adjunct faculty in the Theater And Performance Studies Department at the University of San Diego. Thanks to A.C. and R.P. for their love and support.

Omri Schein* (Benjamin Cohen) NCRT: Five Course Love, ...Spelling Bee, The Big Bang. New York: The People Vs. Mona (featured on the cast recording), Hell's Belles (on going), Henry the V, numerous readings. International Tour: Grease (two stints). Regional: A Funny Thing..., Dear World, Disney's Beauty and the Beast, When Pigs Fly, Seussical. Omri is a lyricist/book writer. Works include Bed Fellas, Gary Goldfarb: Master Escapist (West Village Musical Theatre Festival Best Musical and Score winner), as well as a schlocky horror musical that for now shall remain unnamed. He is also the co-artistic director of The Contemporary Traditionalists, a theatre group dedicated to the development of new musicals. Omri speaks four languages, has an unhealthy relationship with delicious food, and hates humidity. Big thanks to Eva Treiger.

Jonathan McMurtry* (Klinglehoff) Jonathan has a half-century affiliation at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre where he is an "Associate Artist", with over 200 productions to his credit. He has coached Shakespeare for The Old Globe's MFA program and has performed in all of Shakespeare's 37 plays. Among his many acting awards, Jonathan especially treasures the 2008 "Craig Noel Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre Award." The Underpants is his 10th production with North Coast Rep. He has appeared in leading roles at major Regional Theatres across the U.S. and Canada. Films include: Beautiful Joe with Sharon Stone, "Best Laid Plans" with Reese Witherspoon, "Little Nikita" with Sydney Poitier, and "Point Blank" with Lee Marvin (to name a few). TV credits include: Guest-starring roles on "Cheers," "Frazier," "Almost Perfect," "Eli Stone," and, most recently, "Modern Family." Jonathan lives in Vista, CA with his beloved wife, Terri and their amazing daughter, Coral.

*The actor or stage manger appears through the courtesy of Actor's Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers.

The design team of The Underpants includes:

Mark Pinter (Director) Mr. Pinter is thrilled to have the opportunity to direct the San Diego premiere of Steve Martin's The Underpants. Off-Broadway, he directed the world premiere of Jonathan Bell's Portraits, starring Roberta Maxwell and the late Dana Reeve, too much critical acclaim. He also directed Charles Keating and Patrick Horgan in a memorable revival of David Storey's Home for the Wilton Playshop. For NCR he has been seen as Richard in The Lover, Henry II in The Lion in Winter and Walter Flood in Becky's New Car. Off-Broadway: Stanford White in the New York premiere of Don Nigro's My Sweetheart's the Man in the Moon for the Hypothetical Theatre Company, Three on the Couch for Soho Repertory. Regional includes: The Price for Northern Stage, Follies for Little Theatre on the Square, Book of Days for Arena Stage, The Sound of Music for Syracuse Stage, Hamlet for The Old Globe, Charley's Aunt for Carter Center Stage, Equus, Black Comedy, and Shadow Box for the Arizona Theatre Company, Victor/Victoria for North Shore Music Theatre, Hello! Dolly for the Bucks County Playhouse. He starred opposite Lillias White in Courting the Muse for the White Barn Theatre. Television includes: "NCIS: Los Angeles", "Law and Order", "SVU" and "CI", and long running roles on "All My Children" and "Another World". Films include: Other People's Money, Eden Myth, Season of Youth, Vanilla Sky and the award-winning short, Play. MFA/Hilberry Repertory Theatre of Wayne State University. For Carla - and our darling Esme - you are my joy and my reasons to carry on. I love you.

Marty Burnett (Scenic Designer) Designs for North Coast Rep are the last 141 shows. Mr. Burnett has designed sets for the Union Plaza, Sahara, and Hacienda Hotels and Casinos in Las Vegas; Harrah's Lake Tahoe; The Claridge Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, NJ; The Grand Hotel in Anaheim; and The Drury Lane in Chicago. Mr. Burnett is the resident designer and technical director at North Coast Rep.

Matthew Novotny (Lighting Designer) Matthew recently designed the lighting for Dames at Sea, Two by Pinter: The Lover and The Dumb Waiter, THIS, Visiting Mister Green, Lend Me A Tenor, Five Course Love, My Name is Asher Lev, King O' the Moon, Ghosts, Glorious, I Love You Because, Old Wicked Songs, Rabbit Hole, Shipwrecked!, The Dresser, Don't Dress for Dinner, Mornings at Seven, Baby and Rashomon at North Coast Rep. He's currently the Director of Production for Lyric Opera San Diego. Lighting designs include: Iolanthe, The Merry Widow, The King and I, Countess Maritza, and The Mikado. San Diego: Das Barbecu, The Wiz, West Side Storyand Rumors. Regional: Yankee Doodle Dandy (Seattle), Noises Off!(Boston), The Game, (Washington DC) and Primal Twang, a guitar concert featuring six Grammy-winning artists. Matthew holds a BA in Technical Theatre from San Diego State University, and an MFA from Boston University.

Alina Bokovikova (Costume Designer) Alina is thrilled to work with this great theatre again. Her last credits include: THIS ( North Coast Rep),The Man His Wife and His Hat (Moxie Theatre), Henry IV (North Coast Rep), A Raison in the Sun (Moxie) , Les Noces (ballet), The Great American Trailer Park Musical (SD Rep), Hedda Gabler, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Stereoblind (Dance film), Phantom Band, Camino Real (Patte Award), Beehive the Musical, Good Doctor, La Traviatta. Alina has a MFA in Costume Design from UC San Diego and Masters Degree in Education from Russia, so teaching theatre is one of her favorite activities. She is an instructor for Costume Design at UC San Diego and for History of Costume at FIDM.

John Klicman (Sound Designer) John is a San Diego native and no stranger to the theater. While attending CSUSM, he quickly realized his passion for audio production and the arts. Since that time, he has worked in theaters all over the county including Moonlight Amphitheatre and SDSU, as well as doing live sound for numerous events in the area. When he's not sound designing, John records and produces local, up and coming artists in his home studio. He is pleased to be back sound designing at North Coast Rep and hopes everyone will enjoy the show as much as he enjoying creating it. John would like to thank everyone involved in making this production happen, as well as his family for always supporting his passion.

Annie Bornhurst (Props & Set Dressing) North Coast Repertory Theatre: Dames at Sea, Two by Pinter: The Lover and The Dumb Waiter, THIS, Visiting Mister Green, The Lion in Winter, Heroes, Lend Me a Tenor, My Name is Asher Lev, King O' the Moon, The Drawer Boy, Gee's Bend, Becky's New Car, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Voice of the Prairie, Ghosts, Little Women, Glorious!, A Christmas Carol, Talley's Folly, I Love You Because, Don't Dress for Dinner, Over the Tavern, Old Wicked Songs, Rabbit Hole. Actors Circle Theatre: The View from Here. The Sanford Meisner Center: Frankie and Johnny, Babes and Brides. Danita Lee (Assistant Costume Designer) Bio coming soon.

The crew for The Underpants includes:

Lurie Horns Pfeffer* (Stage Manager) New York: Broadway: PSM for RAIN, A Broadway Salute to the Beatles, Billy Crystal's 700 Sundays, and Play On!. Off-Broadway: Manhattan Theatre Club: Labor Day. Regional: Old Globe Theatre: The Constant Wife, Getting and Spending, Knowing Cairo, Splendour, Play On!, Mask of Moriarty, The Real Thing, Much Ado About Nothing, Damn Yankees, Wonderful Tennessee, Dancing at Lughnasa and many more. La Jolla Playhouse: Billy Crystal's 700 Sundays, Uncle Vanya, Love of Three Oranges. Pasadena Playhouse: Ray Charles Live, Biloxi Blues, The Blue Room, Play On!. Hartford Stage: Tintypes. Shakespeare Theater Company: Romeo and Juliet. International: Billy Crystal's 700 Sundays-US, Canada, and Australia Tours. Television: PBS "Great Performances: Play On!" OTHER: PSM for San Diego's Malashock Dance Company, San Diego City Ballet, California Ballet. Proud member of Actor's Equity Association.

John Finkbiner (Scenic Artist) John has been a member of the NCR staff for nearly three years. His favorite shows are Halpern and Johnson, SHIPWRECKED!, The Dresser and Jacques Brel. John received his BA degree at UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television in 1991. John is also an accomplished singer/songwriter and performs with his band, the Stereotypes. His music has been featured on Showtime's "Californication", Fox's "Bones" and NBC's "Knight Rider", among others. John lives with his wife Judi and his son John Gibson in Leucadia.

Jason Nall (Production Manager) Jason is in his first season with North Coast Rep. Previously, he was production manager with The Cutting Ball Theatre, where he worked on their award-winning Pelleas and Melisande, Tontlawald, and Tenderloin, a documentary piece of the famous San Francisco neighborhood. He was also the resident PM for Crowded Fire Theatre Company (Exit, Pursued by a Bear; Songs of the Dragon Flying to Heaven; The Secretaries) and served as production manager for Boxcar Theatre (Clue), and Lamplighters Music Theatre (Pirates of Penzance, Iolanthe, Mikado). He is also an AEA stage manager, working for San Francisco Opera's Merola Opera Program, The Magic Theatre, and Berkeley Playhouse. He has also participated in several new works, including Cybil Shepherd's one-woman show Curvy Widow, Lou Harrison's Young Caesar with Ensemble Parallèle, and Mark Foeringer Dance Project's Bitter Fruit. Originally from Claremont, CA, he has a BA in Criminology from UC Irvine.

Ryan Ford (Associate Production Manager) Ryan is thrilled to be on staff here at NCRT as the Associate Production Manager. Previous works at NCRT include: as a sound mixer; Dames at Sea, Honky Tonk Angels, and Back to Bacharach and David; as ASM or PA; Dracula, String of Pearls, Madagascar, A Shayna Maidel, Tuesdays with Morrie, and Leading Ladies. Around San Diego, Ryan has worked as a stage manager at several theatre companies including Moxie, ion, Diversionary, Cygnet, Playwrights Project, and San Diego Rep. Favorite productions include Twist (Diversionary), A Hammer A Bell and A Song to Sing (SDRep), and Angels in America (ion). Ryan holds a B.A. in Theatre Arts from UCSD. Love and thanks to his fabulous fiancée, Sammi, for long days and late nights.

Kendra Stockton(Production Assistant) Bio coming soon.

About the North Coast Repertory Theatre: North Coast Repertory Theatre is a professional equity theatre founded in 1982. Currently celebrating its 30 season, North Coast Rep has received critical acclaim from media and audiences alike. With the fifth largest operating budget of non profit theatre and employing the third most Actors' Equity Association members (the union of professional actors and stage managers) in San Diego, North Coast Rep continues to produce high quality, award winning theatre and has evolved into one of the area's leading performing arts organizations. Located in Solana Beach, California, NCR not only draws its audience from the North Country region, but 50% of its audience base resides in metro San Diego and throughout Southern California. Recognized for the quality of its work and its commitment to quality, this season will be performed on the Blakistone Stage, dedicated to North Coast Rep founders Olive Blakistone and her departed husband, Tom, who passed away in March of 2009.

 

 

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