"CHARLOTTE VON MAHLSDORF, the subject of I Am My Own Wife, now playing at San Jose Stage Company, was a gay transvestite who lived openly during the reign of the Stasi, East Germany's feared secret police. Mahlsdorf's story includes the murder of her abusive and alcoholic Nazi father when she was just 15 and still known by her given male name of Lothar Berfelde; the escape from prison for that crime during a Russian air raid toward the end of World War II; and a lifelong passion for antique furniture, phonographs and recordings. Oh, and for most of her adult life, she went about her business looking every bit a man in a dress, seemingly heedless of the danger it could cause her in was what perhaps the Soviet bloc's most ruthless regime.
Playwright Doug Wright brings this complicated and singular life to the stage by telling the story of how he, a gay man who grew up in the Bible Belt, got to know and befriend Mahlsdorf after the fall of the Berlin Wall. From 1993 to 1995, Wright made numerous extended trips to Germany to interview Mahlsdorf.
For most of that time, Mahlsdorf struck Wright as a heroic figure, and the play conveys his sense of wonder and admiration for this independent-minded woman. But in the course of his research, Wright got his hands on a copy of Mahlsdorf's Stasi file, which appeared to reveal that complicity with the police and betrayal of her best friend was the price Mahlsdorf was willing to pay to preserve her unique freedoms in that oppressive society."
Playwright Doug Wright brings this complicated and singular life to the stage by telling the story of how he, a gay man who grew up in the Bible Belt, got to know and befriend Mahlsdorf after the fall of the Berlin Wall. From 1993 to 1995, Wright made numerous extended trips to Germany to interview Mahlsdorf.
For most of that time, Mahlsdorf struck Wright as a heroic figure, and the play conveys his sense of wonder and admiration for this independent-minded woman. But in the course of his research, Wright got his hands on a copy of Mahlsdorf's Stasi file, which appeared to reveal that complicity with the police and betrayal of her best friend was the price Mahlsdorf was willing to pay to preserve her unique freedoms in that oppressive society."
I must say that this one man show was spectacular. I was in awe by the actor who could portray so many characters in one scene, and make the audience believe it as well. The set was gorgeous. The silhouette walls and the behind-the-scenes "museum" was quite the sight to see. This production opened my eyes to how the art in acting in a live production is so wonderfully exquisite. For film and television there are many takes and do-overs on end, whilst during a play, there is only room for perfection and nothing less.
Oh, how I sure do miss being on stage. It is only a matter of time though. Persevere.
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