The Underwear Musical: Tantalizing, No?

I See London, I See France: The Underwear Musical
9.18.07

Okay, so it’s not quite as risqué as they want you to think. But it's fun. And it's campy. But it's good camp -- the proverbially winking, nudging kind that doesn't make you want to stab yourself in the eye.

Gina's boyfriend dumps her on her 35th birthday. To make matters worse, they work together at an advertising agency, and he's now run off to Bora Bora with her sexy, empty-headed secretary, leaving Gina to deal with work he's left behind. He was just about to start an ad campaign for underwear, a matter Gina feels is far outside the realm of her "smart girl" sensibility. While searching for the perfect slogan and attempting to re-invent herself, Gina falls in love with Kenny, a sweet, not-so-bright underwear model with an affinity for meteorology.

The show takes on a somewhat whimsical feel, which works well in its favor. As more and more shows try to get away with using the fact that they dont' take themselves seriously as an excuse for poor quality, it was nice to see a show that didn't take itself seriously for the right reasons. There's something about the idea that works in a bit of a fantasy world: everything is somehow saturated-yet-simplistic, which is what allows the show's bouncy, blunt sense of humor to fly. And further, that sense of humor stays decently fresh throughout the show. There are moments that get old, but such is the naure of the beast, I suppose. Generally speaking, the show is that kind of quirky that's become fashionable off-Broadway lately: silly and just as ridiculous as it sounds, and yet quite likeable, filled with one-liners and witty jokes.

I overheard that it was supposed to run 90 minutes, but it ended up running close to two hours without an intermission. If it's going to stay that length, it probably needs an intermission -- there are certainly plot points that allow for it. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that there are points that felt like they should be leading to an intermission. But whichever way you slice it, two straight hours of quirky and underwear without a break can be a little much. There are also a few songs that could go, because it is the sort of show that could make a short and sweet one-act. It's perhaps wise not to take the audience out of a fairly stylized world.

Lastly (but certainly not least), it's got a lot of noteworthy performances. I saw Jordan Gelber back in the OBC days of Avenue Q, and he now departs from butch loser Brian, for which he's best known, about as much as is possible, with a spot-on performance as Cuda, Gina's fabulously flambuoyant co-worker and friend. David Rossmer provides expert comic relief (yes, possible even in a comedy) as the sarcastic and self-deprecating office Temp; he's over the top, and pefectly, endearingly so. Nicholas Ardell makes pretty-boy Kenny loveable despite what he lacks in substance. And not to mention Sandy Rustin, as Gina. Where did she come from? Her bio says she appeared in Don't Quit Your Night Job, which I can see being quite the perfect fit. I hope to see more of her in the future.

This one sold out fast, so it might be a moot point to encourage people to buy tickets. But if you were quick enough to snag tickets, you're in for what may be a somewhat skin-deep comedy, albeit one that'll certainly leave you laughing. And if it does, you probably got from it what was intended.