Gripping Holocaust Survival Story, I AM MY OWN WIFE, to Play Roxy Regional Theatre's theotherspace

As a companion piece to this month's mainstage production of THE DIARY OF Anne Frank, the Roxy Regional Theatre is offering a different sort of Holocaust survival story, though one no less poignant.

The fascinating true tale of Berlin's most famous transvestite, who survived two of the most oppressive regimes of the 20th century, in a dress, comes to the Roxy Regional Theatre's theotherspace in I AM MY OWN WIFE for four evenings only, February 20 - February 28.

Not long after the fall of the Berlin Wall, playwright Doug Wright began a conversation with Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, an elegant and eccentric German transvestite who, against all odds, hid from the Nazis in plain sight as a woman. During her struggle to survive both the Nazi onslaught and the repressive East German Communist regime, Charlotte escaped reality by indulging her passion for antique furnishings, managing to collect countless artifacts to place in her private museum.

I AM MY OWN WIFE, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play inspired by these hours of interviews, is a profound story of survival, strikingly political and beautifully humane. Directed by Ryan Bowie, the Roxy Regional Theatre's production of this remarkable one-man tour de force showcases the talents of Oliver Pierce. Following his spot-on performance as a young Elvis Presley in Million Dollar Quartet last fall, Pierce returns to portray Charlotte and more than thirty other characters who pass through her controversial life.

I AM MY OWN WIFE is presented in theotherspace, the 50-seat black-box theatre located upstairs at the Roxy, and plays at 7:00pm on February 20, 21, 27 and 28. Due to language and content, this production is recommended for mature audiences only.

Tickets are $15 and may be purchased online at www.roxyregionaltheatre.org, by phone at (931) 645-7699, or at the theatre during regular box office hours (9:00am to 2:00pm, Monday through Friday, and one hour prior to curtain).

Pictured: Oliver Pierce stars as real-life German transvestite Charlotte von Mahlsdorf in the Roxy Regional Theatre's theotherspace production of I AM MY OWN WIFE, February 20 - February 28.