Review: I AM MY OWN WIFE at 2nd Story Theatre

Charlotte von Mahlsdorf (née Lothar Berfelde) the, now infamous, German transvestite was born in Berlin in 1928.  She survived both the senseless brutality of  Nazism and Cold War Communism.

In her early adulthood Mahlsdorf became a dealer in second hand goods. She began collecting everyday items, most often sifting through bombed-out houses. From ephemera (keys that opened nothing) to objet d'art, she made her living collecting. Her collection eventually evolved into the Gründerzeit Museum. Mahlsdorf even purchased the entire contents of a soon-to-be-razed local gay bar and re-assembled the collection in her basement.  In doing so, she preserved a gathering space which continued to be used by local gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans communities.

For her courage, Mahlsdorf was awarded the German Federal Cross of Merit in 1992.  In 1997, with the increase of neo-Nazi violence in Germany, she moved to Sweden.  Mahlsdorf died of a heart attack during return visit to Berlin in 2002.

In I Am My Own Wife, playwright Doug Wright has crafted a remarkable (and multiple award-winning) piece, based on his extensive interviews with Mahlsdorf, public records, and previously classified documents. Mahlsdorf herself anchors the one-actor play, which brings in nearly three dozen characters in an hour and forty-five minutes.

What emerges is a complicated portrait of a woman.  Mahlsdorf’s transvestitism fades well into the background as we contemplate how (or if), as a paid Stasi collaborator, she betrayed the very friends she was protecting. As one of the characters in his own play, Wright comes to realize that Mahlsdorf curated not only objects, but also facts and history.  She put forward the facts that she wants him to see and omits events, and time periods that do not serve her purpose.

The full weight of the production rests on Ed Shea, under Ryan Maxell’s direction. Shea gives a compelling, and at times, gripping, performance as Mahlsdorf and collected characters.  Dressed in a black hausfrau dress with orthopedic shoes and a single strand of pearls, Shea creates a whole world out of Doug Wright’s words, matte black and audience imagination.

I Am My Own Wife is a fascinating story and this is a tremendous production, not to be missed.

 I Am My Own Wife plays at 2nd Story Theatre in Warren, RI through October 25, 2009.  Performances are Thursday – Saturday at 8 p.m.  and Sunday at 3 p.m.

All seats are $25 and tickets can be purchased the Box office, which is located at 28 Market St., Warren, RI, or by phone at 401-247-4200.

Photo: Ed Shea as Charlotte von Mahlsdorf

Photo Credit: 2ndStory/Richard W. Dionne, Jr.

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