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Review: I Am My Own Wife

A review by Bradley Troll

A light touch of her pearls, a soft swish of the matronly black apron over the black lace of a modest skirt. She turns a squeaky crank and delicately places the needle to the record as the soft static of an Edison phonograph prepares to tell its symphonic story. Behind her--antiques. Clocks, record players, sideboards... looming just behind the lace scrim screens. And on a table, small representations of these things, lingering memories of the grandeur of her famous museum in Bernlin-Mahlsdorf.

"I became the furniture," she says simply.  Her English is slightly off; she means to say that she acquired the furniture or she collected the furniture, but somehow "I became the furniture" seems more fitting.  To survive Germany through the terror of both the Nazi and Communist regime is extraordinary; for Charlotte van Mahlsdorf, Germany's most notorious transvestite, survival was the only option.

Southern Rep, in association with All Kinds of Theatre, presents this true story in the regional premiere of Doug Wright's I Am My Own Wife.  This Pulitzer and Tony-award winning play features over 40 characters performed by one actor; at Southern Rep, that actor is Bob Edes, Jr.  I Am My Own Wife follows two stories:  that of Charlotte's life and also of playwright Doug Wright's fascination with her.  As Doug gets to know Charlotte and her incredible past, secret files begin to surface that dispute the gentle transvestite's story.  Torn between a love for his subject and a commitment to discovering the truth, Doug must decide which story is most deserving to be told.

I Am My Own Wife is a deceptively simple play and requires a delicate touch.  It is, at once, an epic war story, a lesson in gay history, the tale of two cultures coming together, and piece of espionage noir.  The responsibility of such detail and precision falls to director Carl Walker, whose subtle touch can be felt throughout.  Very much in Walker's impeccable style, he juxtaposes the comical and the melancholy, the mundane and the inconceivable.

Bob Edes, Jr. begins his the story as the sleight, almost motherly Charlotte.  Edes does not attempt to fool the audience; this is a man. But it is soon clear that Charlotte puts on no act--she is who she is, gender be damned.  The audience is filled with a soft sense of security by the lull of the soft German accent only to be alarmingly jarred out of it by Edes' sudden transformation into a deep-voiced American newsman named John.  This is only the beginning of the vast versatility Edes offers throughout the evening.  At one moment he is fragile, easily swept away by a strong wind, and at the next he is booming, a metaphoric military tank ripping though city streets.  Like the twists of the story, the anticipation of Edes' transformations make for electric theatricality.

Edes' adroit performances are enhanced by the lovely design work.  Marty Sachs's lighting design creates moments and places, mood and weather; in lights alone, we are able to travel throughout Germany and time.  These lights lovingly illuminate the mostly-bare set designed by David Raphel.  The aforementioned scrim hides untold treasures that are revealed only in moments, but downstage, a simple hard wood floor becomes the space on which Edes must recreate a near century of history.  The versatility of Raphel's "less-is-more" set allows the actor to move freely across the cracks of the hardwood planks like a needle in the groove of a record--lightly hitting the surface so that he may tell his story, sing his song.

More than just a compelling true story, I Am My Own Wife remains an important lesson of tolerance and self-preservation.  As Charlotte points out, hatred is cyclical--it comes and goes. There is rarely a moment that we are free from oppression of one kind or another, and, perhaps, the best tactic to get us all through is survival--at any cost.  Just as the lines of right and wrong are blurred in Charlotte's sordid past, we all learn that we must only do the best we can at any given moment.  The company of Southern Rep's I Am My Own Wife masterfully offers this gift--a testament to the enduring quality of the human spirit that you will not soon forget.

I Am My Own Wife runs through December 6 at Southern Rep.  Fore more information, read the press release, visit www.southernrep.com, or call (504) 522-6545