When a “wardrobe malfunction” transforms a quiet, middle-class housewife into an instant celebrity, her life is turned upside down. This is the plot of a nearly 100-year-old play called “The Underpants,” adapted with a contemporary twist by writer and actor Steve Martin. It was opened at the Lyric Stage Company on January 4. The play was originally written by German playwright Carl Sternheim and pointed to two important issues: first, it shows us the time when women had a role limited to the home and were treated as chattel and second, it draws contemporary parallels where people can become famous for doing the most ridiculous things. To place a Boston stamp on “The Underpants,” the Lyric has asked several area celebrities to make cameo appearances in the final scene, in which the shift between fantasy and reality takes an absurd turn.