No one knows for sure what dead people are happy to be rid of when they go to the next world. Is it the mortgage payment? Pantyhose? Loading toilet paper on the dispenser?

Nah. It's pants.

At least that's Marcel Nunis' guess. Nunis wrote and directed "The Dead Guy Show," a play opening May 10 in which the main character dies and discovers pants are a pain. The play explores life and what becomes important -- and unimportant -- upon death.

_____PHOTO _____ Christian Parley / Neighbors CityView Elizabeth Decker, Taylor Cole, Joel Dyer and Jennifer Lathrop perform in "The Dead Guy Show."

Oh, and most of the actors don't wear pants.

"The more accepting one becomes of their existence on this plain ... the less the need to hold on to the trappings of the material world," says one of the play's characters. "Upon acceptance, the pants are always the first thing to go."

The actors do, however, wear underwear.

Though the play does have some serious themes, it's steeped in tongue-in-cheek antics. The main character, Jim, awakens to find he's dead and God's accountant is summing up his life in his living room. Gabe -- not to be mistaken with the angel Gabriel -- is a dark-suit-and-sunglasses-clad angel who tells Jim he has one hour to figure out how he died. If he doesn't he'll spend 50 years in limbo before getting another chance to move into "the light."

Gabe does wear pants -- he's one of the first people in the hereafter the deceased see and he doesn't want to disturb them any more than they already are.

The actors had to adjust to a pants-free show.

"The boys were a little nervous about that," Joel Dyer, who plays Jim, said of two of the other actors. "They were talking about going to work out their legs."

Actors have to carry themselves in a different manner when not wearing pants, Dyer said. There's no pockets to put your hands in, for one. And people look goofy with their hands on their hips when wearing boxer shorts.

"The Dead Guy Show" -- presented by Theatre J'Nerique, will be performed at 8 p.m. May 10, 11, 17, 18, 24 and 25 at the Sanctuary Stage Theater, 2336 Calaveras St. Ticket prices are $10 for general admission and $7 for students and senior citizens.

Details: 497-6574.

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