DIRECTOR JASON MEENACH and actor Brad Ulery are pictured on the set of “The Underpants” before rehearsals recently. Steve Martin’s adaptation of a 1910 farce opens at Woodford Theatre next Friday night, March 20. Weekend performances continue through April 3-5. (Photo by Bob Vlach)
It was while reading the script that director Jason Meenach knew he wanted to direct Steve Martin’s “The Underpants” at The Woodford Theatre.
He and actor Brad Ulery, who portrays Theo, say they’d never seen Martin’s adaptation of a 1910 German farce by Carl Sternheim about a couple, Louise and Theo Markes, whose conservative existence is shattered when Louise’s bloomers fall down in public.
Meenach did watch a lot of Martin growing up, so he could “hear how Steve Martin would say these lines” when he read his adaptation of a comedy more than 100 years old.
But no matter if it’s the physical comedy or the emotional softness of movies like “Father of the Bride” and “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” Meenach says, “…You can imagine, ‘Oh yeah, this is that thing that Steve Martin does.’”
Beyond the words in a script, Ulery says, “The people in this show are some of the funniest people that I’ve ever worked with.” So sharing a stage with any of them is “an honor; to be able to share the stage with all of them is a challenge because they are all so freaking funny.”
Because of this cast’s comedic talent, from Baelyn Linae as Louise, who Ulery describes as “incredible,” everyone has a difficult time not laughing at each other during rehearsals.
“You know that you’re in for a good time,” he says, “if (during) the entire rehearsal process, you’re just laughing so hard that you hurt when you go home.”
And he says that happens every night. “Everyone in this cast is so kind and so caring and so funny. And we’re all trying to find new ways to make each other laugh; and when you do that,” he says, “I think that’s when you find the best stuff.”
When Meenach is casting and directing a show, he says, “I like to think that I’m giving them the keys to a car. And I want them to drive the car. I’ll make sure that they’re staying on the right road and that we’re getting to the destination. But ultimately, I’m giving the key to Theo’s car to Brad because I like the way that he drives that car.”
The physicality that Ulery brings to comedic performances, Meenach says, is interesting to watch. “Brad,” he adds, also “has a very intuitive comic sense that you can’t really teach. … You either have that sensibility or you don’t.”
Darius Fatemi (Cohen) and Tim Hull (Versati), who their director describes as “two of the most experienced … and versatile actors in this region, are always coming up with new ideas,” that inform decisions about where they’re taking their audience.
“There’s always a certain quality that you have in mind for each of the characters,” says Meenach. “A lot of the times, actors will get the roles because they show you something that aligns with what you were hoping to find.
“And sometimes they get the role because they brought in something that you never even thought of, and took it in a totally different direction.” Both happened when Meenach was casting “The Underpants,” the finale of the 2025-26 main stage season at Woodford Theatre.
Ulery, who met his wife at Woodford Theatre when they did “Guys and Dolls” together, says, “I feel like shows always find you when you need them.”
For him, comedy became a coping mechanism in his teens. Later in life, he realized laughter could bring joy into his life and the lives of others.
“Hearing people laugh at something that you’ve done (while onstage),” he says, “is some of the best medicine, I think you can find.”
Performances of “The Underpants” at Woodford Theatre are the weekends of March 20-22, March 27-29 and April 3-5. Friday and Saturday night performances begin at 7:30 and Sunday matinees are at 2 p.m. To purchase tickets and for more information, visit woodfordtheatre.com or telephone the Woodford Theatre box office (open Tuesday through Friday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.) at 859-873-0648.