Workshopped at
La Jolla Playhouse
San Diego, CA
July 2001
Based on a true story and inspired by interviews by the playwright, I Am My Own Wife tells the story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a soft spoken but tenacious German transgender woman whose lifelong obsession was the preservation of an astonishing collection of antiquities. What she also preserved was her identity living openly during the repressive regimes of the Nazis and the Communists. The play is a vivid portrayal of Charlotte's life by one performer enacting 35 roles. It also deals with the playwright's challenges telling the story when confronted with some surprising details of Charlotte's life that were revealed during the creation of the project.
Premiered at New Horizons
Off-Broadway
New York, NY
May 2003
CURRENT PRODUCTION
I Am My Own Wife
By: Doug Wright
Winner of 2 Tony Awards
Drama Desk Award
Drama League Award
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Lambda Literary Award
When families died, I became this furniture. When the Jews were deported in the Second World War, I became it. When citizens were burned out of their homes by the Communists, I became it. After the coming of the wall, when the old mansions houses were destroyed to create the people's architecture, I became it.