Atlanta, GA: I Am My Own Wife

I Am My Own Wife is a one-man play about a gay transvestite — Charlotte von Mahlsdorf — from East Berlin who survives both the Nazi and Communist regimes and creates a museum of everyday objects that served as a haven and meeting place for GLBT East Berliners until the 1990s.

Actor Doyle Reynolds does an amazing job of playing a total of 36 characters in two acts. He skillfully uses changes in voice, body position and gestures to draw each character for the audience. It’s truly an incredible performance.

The Pulitzer Award-winning script is based on playwright Doug Wright’s interviews with and research about von Mahlsdorf and her life. He captures both von Mahlsdorf’s life and the controversy surrounding her receipt of a government medal and involvement with the East German secret police (the Stasi).

Wright leaves the questions surrounding von Mahlsdorf unanswered, but explains why Charlotte is so important to gay history and identity: “I need to believe that a man could survive two of the most repressive regimes the West has ever seen in a pair of heels.” (I think that’s the exact line.)