We are still in need of males for parts in Steve Martins "The Underpants" so we are going to have another audition, Thursday, March 2. Auditions will be 7:00 pm.
Auditions will include cold readings from the script. A description of the play and parts follows.
Performance dates are April 28, 29, 30 and May 5, 6, 7. Friday and Saturday shows will be at 8 pm, and Sunday shows will be at 2 pm.
Act II is a community theatre group. While we don't offer monetary compensation, we can offer the love of the stage, and a great experience. In addition to actors, we welcome volunteers for sound and lights, stage mgr, property mgr, set construction, etc. We have a dedicated repeat audience, and take pride in our work. We're looking forward to working with you!
Based on a 1910 German farce by Carl Sternheim and adapted by Steve Martin, the premise is that a pair of underpants accidentally falling down around the dainty shoes of a pretty young frau, Louise as she watches the king parade by in the park, is enough to make her domineering husband, Theo, carry on dramatically about the potential harm to his reputation, his position as a junior clerk and their entire financial future. Despite his apparent agony over this state of affairs, the husband remains blind to the fact that the men who suddenly materialize to rent the room the couple has to let are motivated by the inspirational sight of his wife's undergarment. Of course the men are there to make a play for Louise and each plots to force the other man out. The greedy husband plots to subdivide the room to increase his take. Gertrude, a gossipy, voyeuristic, spinster neighbor urges Louise on to an affair. Louise morphs from naïve to canny in an hour and a half.
Deliciously politically incorrect, the characters are stereotypes. Theo, the blustering, humorless German husband boasts of his minor government job, his physique, and his efficiency in all endeavors. Versati is the poet and first applicant for the room. He is foppishly attired and flowery in speech and manner, sweeping Louise off her feet with his flattery, though in the end he is in love with his words and himself, not her. Cohen, "that's Cohen with a K," as he lies unconvincingly to his German landlord, is the Jewish total nerd who witnessed the descent of the underpants and takes it upon himself to save the lass from the opportunistic poet and have her for himself.
The Characters:
Theo Maske: A burly, muscular fireplug with a buzz cut.
Louise Maske: Very pretty, mid-twenties, Theo's wife.
Gertrude Deuter: Forty-two, and a busybody.
Frank Versati: An elegant gentleman.
Benjamin Cohen: Sickly, thin, asthmatic.
Klinglehoff: An elderly man.
