Carl Sternheim’s satirization of the rising bourgeoisie has lost some of its point today. His play Die Hose (The Trousers), the first in a cycle of satirical works, From the Heroic Life of the Bourgeois (1911-21), made wicked fun of middle class moral sensibilities in Wilhelmine, Germany. While the object of ridicule has faded with time, what remains is a work with endearingly oddball characters.

   The comedian and playwright Steve Martin recognized the potential for farce in his modern adaptation, The Underpants. This delightful comedy, directed by Shawn Fennell, is the final work in the regular series from Princeton Summer Theater. Back in the day when women’s undergarments were held in place with a cord, accidents might happen. Such it was with Louise Maske (Ariel Sibert), who inadvertently dropped her drawers in the town square and caused a scandal. Despite her innocence, Herr Theo Maske (Billy Hepfinger) is determined that his wife’s exposure will not jeopardize his solid career as a clerk.

   However, the Maskes’ nosy, horny neighbor, Gertrude Deuter (Sara-Ashley Bischoff), sees possibilities for the mousy Louise after would-be tenants flock to the apartment, jockeying for a room. (Bischoff plays her as a loud, fast-talking busybody. She’s got the mouth, but she could slow it down just a tad.)

   First up is the uber-romantic poet Frank Versati (Aaron Strand), who has swooned at the sight of Louise’s particulars and now must have that room. Then there’s Benjamin Cohen (Max Rosmarin), whom Theo has brought in, also with the promise of renting the same room. The running joke with Cohen is his thinly disguised Jewishness (“That’s ‘Kohen’ with a ‘K’”).

   It’s clear that to the buttoned up Theo, Louise is nothing more than cook and bottle washer. What’s missing for her is romance, which she hopes to taste with the exotic Versati. But renting a room for two, with a curtain between, threatens to upset the tryst that Gertrude has been helping Louise to plan.

   One can imagine Steve Martin himself in this play, perhaps as Versati. And of this cast, Strand comes closest to the antic Martin spirit, with his extravagant impersonation of the florid poet. His every sentence is a declaration; every word is expressed with a sinuous gesture or facial contortion. At one point, Versati gets down on bended knee to declare his feeling for Louise, and scoots around the apartment after her, still on that knee. All his libidinous energy, however, is expended on the page, missing the mark that Louise expects.

   Cohen, too, has been smitten after Louise’s de-panting, and wants the room so he can be near her. He is, however, a sickly young man who complains that his bed’s orientation toward the North is making him ill. He fawns after Louise, wanting to take care of her. Rosmarin plays him as a sniveling, whiney fellow, a sort of precursor to Woody Allen.

   The two boarders are the missing links in Louise’s relationship with her underappreciative husband, whom Hepfinger plays like a smug, self-important king of his castle. He’s a kind of rough-hewn Barney Rubble. But Theo is not all that he appears.

   A third would-be tenant, Klinglehoff (Tyler Crosby), makes a cameo appearance as a timid, elderly man who can’t abide salaciousness or excitement — in contrast to Versati or Cohen. The character is there as a foil to the antics of the other two.

   And speaking of kings, the play climaxes in a hilarious punch line, courtesy of Patrick Harvey. His appearance alone is enough to bring down the house, especially if you have been paying attention to his performances throughout the summer. It also allows Louise to emerge as the one character who develops in this play. Sibert, who debuts here, could show us more of that development.

   Although Sternheim’s satire may have lost its bite, thanks to Steve Martin the comedy has retained all of its farce. The players generally do it justice, and it’s the perfect way to coast into late summer with a laugh.

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  The Underpants continues at the Hamilton Murray Theater, Princeton University, Aug. 13-14, 8 p.m., Aug. 15, 2, 8 p.m., Aug. 16, 2 p.m.; 609-258-7062; www.princetonsummertheater.org