I Am My Own Wife
Encyclopedia
I Am My Own Wife is a play by Doug Wright
based on his conversations with German transvestite Charlotte von Mahlsdorf
. The one-man play premiered Off-Broadway
in 2003 at Playwrights Horizons
. It opened on Broadway later that year. The play was developed with Moisés Kaufman
and his Tectonic Theater Project
, and Kaufman also acted as director. Jefferson Mays
starred in the Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, playing some forty roles.
as a transvestite.
, starring Björn Kjellman
. In 2006, the play was staged in Hudson, New York at Stageworks/Hudson starring Broadway actor Jeffrey Kuhn, in Toronto
, Ontario
at CanStage, with Stephen Ouimette
in the starring role, in Vancouver
, British Columbia
, at the Playhouse Theatre with Canadian actor Tom Rooney, at the Saidye Bronfman Centre in Montreal with actor Brett Christopher, in Portland, Oregon
at the Gerding Theater starring actor Wade McCollum
, in Portland, Maine
at the Portland Stage Company starring actor Tom Ford, and in Ann Arbor, Michigan
at the Performance Network Theatre
starring actor Malcolm Tulip. In January 2007, the San Pedro Playhouse in San Antonio, Texas successfully mounted the play. It was also performed at the George Street Playhouse
, New Brunswick, New Jersey from Jan 16, 2007 to Feb 11, 2007. It featured Mark Nelson, and was directed by Anders Cato. A French translation (Ma femme, c'est moi) was performed in February 2009 at Théâtre du Rideau Vert in Montreal
. It also ran at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, starring Helen Hayes award winner Andrew Long, and directed by Alan Paul, and at Theater Three in Port Jefferson, New York
, featuring Jeffrey Sanzel.
Between May 6 and May 23, 2009 it played in Tasmania
at the Earl Arts Centre in Launceston
, and the Theatre Royal, Hobart
Backspace, produced by the Tasmanian Theatre Company, and featuring Robert Jarman
.
In the Czech Republic
, the play was premiered in 2008 by Divadlo Letí in Prague
, starring Pavol Smolárik. At the same time it was also staged by a Czech non-professional theater group with Libor Ulovec in the role. The latter was awarded the Best Czech Non-Professional Drama Performance 2009 and Libor Ulovec received (among others) the Best Czech Non-Professional Actor Prize 2009.
In Mexico it is starring by the actor Hector Bonilla who, on January 23, 2010, accomplished 100 performances, with 89 standing ovations by that time.
Awards
a
Doug Wright
Doug Wright is an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2004 for his play, I Am My Own Wife.-Early years:Wright was born in Dallas, Texas...
based on his conversations with German transvestite Charlotte von Mahlsdorf
Charlotte von Mahlsdorf
Charlotte von Mahlsdorf was the founder of the Gründerzeit Museum in Berlin-Mahlsdorf.- Early years :...
. The one-man play premiered Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
in 2003 at Playwrights Horizons
Playwrights Horizons
Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work....
. It opened on Broadway later that year. The play was developed with Moisés Kaufman
Moisés Kaufman
Moisés Kaufman is a playwright, director and founder of Tectonic Theater Project. He is the author of Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, 33 Variations and is perhaps best known for writing The Laramie Project with other members of Tectonic Theater Project...
and his Tectonic Theater Project
Tectonic Theater Project
With Moisés Kaufman at the helm, the Tectonic Theater Project explores the ways in which experimentation with form and structure can inform theme in contemporary drama....
, and Kaufman also acted as director. Jefferson Mays
Jefferson Mays
Jefferson Mays is an American theatre and film actor.A Connecticut native, Mays trained at Yale College, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree, and the University of California, San Diego, where he earned an Master of Fine Arts...
starred in the Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, playing some forty roles.
Plot synopsis
I Am My Own Wife is an examination of the life of German antiquarian Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, born Lothar Berfelde, who killed her father when she was a young boy and survived the Nazi and Communist regimes in East BerlinEast Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
as a transvestite.
Productions
In 2004, the play had its European premiere at Stockholms Stadsteater, StockholmStockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, starring Björn Kjellman
Björn Kjellman
John Björn Sture Kjellman , is a Swedish actor and singer. He has had roles in Swedish movies like Klassfesten and Livet är en schlager, in which he plays a Melodifestivalen-obsessed transsexual who is brother to Helena Bergström's character, who takes part in the Swedish Melodifestivalen in the...
. In 2006, the play was staged in Hudson, New York at Stageworks/Hudson starring Broadway actor Jeffrey Kuhn, in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
at CanStage, with Stephen Ouimette
Stephen Ouimette
Stephen Ouimette is a Canadian actor and director, born and raised in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada, and a graduate of the University of Windsor...
in the starring role, in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, at the Playhouse Theatre with Canadian actor Tom Rooney, at the Saidye Bronfman Centre in Montreal with actor Brett Christopher, in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
at the Gerding Theater starring actor Wade McCollum
Wade McCollum
Wade McCollum is an American film actor, stage actor and composer/musician, and is a member of the Actors' Equity Association and Screen Actors Guild...
, in Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
at the Portland Stage Company starring actor Tom Ford, and in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
at the Performance Network Theatre
Performance Network Theatre
Performance Network Theatre is Ann Arbor, Michigan's only professional theatre, formed in 1981. It produces a wide variety of dramas, classics and comedies, many of which are World or Michigan Premieres. Its professional season runs year-round...
starring actor Malcolm Tulip. In January 2007, the San Pedro Playhouse in San Antonio, Texas successfully mounted the play. It was also performed at the George Street Playhouse
George Street Playhouse
George Street Playhouse is a theatre in New Brunswick, New Jersey, one of the state's preeminent professional theatres committed to the production of new and established plays....
, New Brunswick, New Jersey from Jan 16, 2007 to Feb 11, 2007. It featured Mark Nelson, and was directed by Anders Cato. A French translation (Ma femme, c'est moi) was performed in February 2009 at Théâtre du Rideau Vert in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. It also ran at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, starring Helen Hayes award winner Andrew Long, and directed by Alan Paul, and at Theater Three in Port Jefferson, New York
Port Jefferson, New York
The Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson is located in the town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the 2000 United States Census, the village population was 7,837...
, featuring Jeffrey Sanzel.
Between May 6 and May 23, 2009 it played in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
at the Earl Arts Centre in Launceston
Launceston, Tasmania
Launceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart...
, and the Theatre Royal, Hobart
Theatre Royal, Hobart
The Theatre Royal is situated in central Hobart, Tasmania. It stages many events including international ballet, opera, drama and musicals. It was constructed between 1834-1837 and is the oldest continually operating theatre in Australia....
Backspace, produced by the Tasmanian Theatre Company, and featuring Robert Jarman
Robert Jarman
Robert Jarman is a theater director and writer based in Hobart, Tasmania.-Education:His initial study was at the University of Sydney where he participated extensively with the University Theatre Society, performing, writing and directing shows varying in style from Shakespeare to experimental...
.
In the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, the play was premiered in 2008 by Divadlo Letí in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, starring Pavol Smolárik. At the same time it was also staged by a Czech non-professional theater group with Libor Ulovec in the role. The latter was awarded the Best Czech Non-Professional Drama Performance 2009 and Libor Ulovec received (among others) the Best Czech Non-Professional Actor Prize 2009.
In Mexico it is starring by the actor Hector Bonilla who, on January 23, 2010, accomplished 100 performances, with 89 standing ovations by that time.
Awards and nominations
Awards
- 2004 Drama Desk Award for Best New Play
- 2004 Drama League Award for Best Play
- 2004 Lucille Lortel Awards Outstanding Solo Show
- 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
- 2004 Tony Award for Best Play
- 2004 Lambda Literary Award for DramaLambda Literary AwardLambda Literary Awards are awarded yearly by the US-based Lambda Literary Foundation to published works which celebrate or explore LGBT themes. Categories include Humor, Romance and Biography. To qualify, a book must have been published in the United States in the year current to the award...
External links
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