Leaving a drunken best friend in a bat costume on a park bench sounds like something from an embarrassing Facebook photo, not a renowned German opera.

But costumes, practical jokes and arrest records are an integral part of Johann Strauss' nineteenth century comedic work, and the Penn State School of Theatre and the School of Music will present an English adaptation of Strauss' Die Fledermaus, beginning tomorrow night and continuing until March 2 at the Playhouse Theatre.

Guest director E. Loren Meeker said Die Fledermaus, as an operetta, was meant to be a light, comedic parody of traditional opera.

She said this operetta is one of the most popular and recognizable of its kind.

"If you're not familiar with opera, this is an excellent introductory opera," she said.

Meeker has worked with opera companies since 2001 in Chicago, San Diego and San Francisco. This will be her first time directing at Penn State.

Paris Nesbitt (senior-vocal performance) said the story of Die Fledermaus is about his character, practical joker Gabriel von Eisenstein.

One night, Eisenstein sets up his friend, Dr. Falke, by leaving him drunk on a park bench. The next morning a police officer sees Falke and arrests him, Nesbitt said.

The play's title, which literally means "The Bat" in German, refers to the fact that Falke was dressed like a bat, following a costume party, when he was arrested. But the story doesn't stop there.

"He sets up a very elaborate plan to get back at me for the joke that I played on him," Nesbitt said.

Falke convinces Eisenstein to go to a lavish ball hosted by a prince so he will flirt with the women there, Nesbitt said.

Emily Brand (graduate-vocal performance), plays Rosalinda, Eisenstein's wife, who also gets in on the plot against her husband.

"She plays a part in the second act by dressing up as a Hungarian countess attending the party and she tricks him," she said.

Eisenstein gives the mysterious masked countess his watch, which Brand said is his way of seducing women.

"She keeps it so she is able to say 'I know you were cheating on me,' " Brand said.

Each of the eleven principal characters in the operetta were double-cast. Brand and Nesbitt will play Falke and Eisenstein's characters for a performance, then hand the roles off to two different actors for the next performance.

Meghan Curry (senior-voice performance), one of two students performing as Adele, Eisenstein's maid, said being double-cast allowed her to see the character from another perspective.

"It's a good learning experience because you have the opportunity to sit back and watch and then change what you're doing," she said. "You're learning with another person."

Curry said her character is an aspiring actress trying to move up in society.

"Basically she is trying the entire show just to get attention," she said.

The operetta's music will be performed with two ensembles from the Penn State Chamber Orchestra switching off every other night, like the cast.

Brand said using the live orchestra, instead of a solo piano or recording, makes performing more exciting.

"Just the whole atmosphere of everything being live and everything being spontaneous and spur-of-the-moment is wonderful -- very hard to coordinate, but worth it in the end," she said.

Nathan Gardner (junior-musical theatre), who plays Alfred, Rosalinda's lover, said this is his first experience with opera.

"It's pushed my voice a lot and the style of it's much different and it's kind of fun to just play around with ... the character," he said.

Curry said the jokes and relationships in the play make it easy for a student to relate to.

"It's a comedy and it has so many funny, endearing, fantastic moments in it," she said. "It's going to pull the audience in despite the fact that they're slightly removed from this time and this period."

Gardner said the ball the characters attend isn't all that different from a party that might happen at Penn State.

"This show's all about drinking and being ridiculous and having a fun, grand old time," he said. "Forget your problems and forget the issues and just get drunk."