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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 812.54
EAN num: 9780822220244
ISBN number: 0822220245
Label: Dramatist's Play Service
Manufacturer: Dramatist's Play Service
Page Count: 48
Printing Date: May 06, 2005
Publishing house: Dramatist's Play Service
Sale Popularity Level: 54864
Studio: Dramatist's Play Service
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Product Description:
Winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
From the Obie Award-winning author of Quills comes this acclaimed one-man show, which explores the astonishing true story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf. A transvestite and celebrated antiques dealer who successfully navigated the two most oppressive regimes of the past century-the Nazis and the Communists--while openly gay and defiantly in drag, von Mahlsdorf was both hailed as a cultural hero and accused of colluding with the Stasi. In an endeavor to discern the truth about Charlotte, Doug Wright has written 'at once a vivid portrait of Germany in the second half of the twentieth century, a morally complex tale about what it can take to be a survivor, and an intriguing meditation on everything from the obsession with collecting to the passage of time' (Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times).
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Rated by buyers -
Excellent piece but note the following irony with the title that most women pick up immediately. The title "I am my own wife" is Charlotte's response to her mother's question of when she is to marry-a question posed WHILE she, Charlotte's mother, is hanging to dry CHARLOTTE's clothing. Charlotte isn't her "own wife"--her MOTHER is!
Rated by buyers 
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All the power to Mr. Wright. After all, it 's not everyone that can hit a home run on Broadway. God bless him. And it is a fascinating little story, of a transsexual in drag who outwits the German Gestapo and the Stasi, living finally to triumph as a post-modern icon of perverse longevity in a land of forgotten heroes, mysterious deaths and torture chambers. One would love to know the true story of this so-called 'survivor.' Whose lap was she/he sitting on? The play itself is a long drag, a monologue delivered to the audience about how fascinating the playwright found this person to be. Of course, one would very much wonder how the playwright decided that what was most interesting about this story was the fact that he found it so terribly interesting. Another interpretation might have been that there wasn't very much there in the very first place.
Rated by buyers 
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I was very first introduced to this play by a local theatre group, one of the very first in the US to debut it and was absolutely blown away by the subject matter as well as the performance. Charlotte's life story told by Doug through various intermediate characters all while wearing a grey dress, is a story that should be shared. Not only is this a story about sexuality, but it is more importantly about survival and how we change our identities to do so.
Rated by buyers 
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This is an autobiography of Charlotte, a transvestite German, written in a play format like the works of Shakespeare. This work won a Pulitzer Prize the year it came out, and so I read it thinking it would be interesting. I am not sure what to think of it still, or even whether Charlotte is a man acting like a woman, or the other way around.
The play is about the life of Charlotte, a person born in Germany before World War II. (S)he grows up in an abusive family, and kills his own father while still a minor. (S)he flees his home in the city during the Nazi's term of power to life in the countryside (I think), and moves back after the Russians move in. (S)he then navigates life under Communism, and survives to see the end of it and the reunification of Germany.
The bulk of the book takes place during the Nazi reign very first and the Soviet occupation second. Charlotte recounts how he/she survives both regimes, both of which were not known for tolerance of homosexual behavior and/or transvestites. There are hints throughout the play that Charlotte evaded persecution in varous sordid ways. One is that (s)he acted as a spy for the government. Second, (s)he might have had clandestine, sexual affairs with individuals in power, who then protected him/her in order to protect themselves.
There are scenes of tragedy in the book, like when certain friends are carted of by the secret police, but these scenes are not sad enough to make you cry. There are also funny scenes, but none of them are hilarious. In all, this was an interesting read, and being such a short book, is worth the 1-2 hours to finish it.
Rated by buyers -
"I am my Own Wife" is the new play (2004) by Doug Wright (screenplay writer of Quills) based on his interviews and friendship with the late gay German crossdressed hausfrau, Lothar Berfelde, better known as Charlotte Von Mahlsdorf. A magnificent one-man show that mesmerized Broadway, actor Jefferson Mays played thirty-five separate characters.
The title comes from 40-year-old Charlotte's answer to his mother's clueless plea "don't you think it's time you settled down and found a wife?": "But, Mutti, don't you know that I am my own wife?"
Do buy (and go see) this play! It is well-written, entertaining, very "theatrical," and you will enjoy reading and discussing it with your friends. I also recommend Charlotte Von Mahlsdorf's autobiography. (See my "So You Want To . . . be Your Own Wife" guide to find more materials related to Charlotte's life and times).
HOWEVER . . . it may sound contradictory, given what I've said, but I have a lot of problems with the central character of Charlotte. I've thought for days about this play and the story. I was very attracted to it because of the sheer theatricality of the situation and the character, not to mention the frisson of the "non-drag-queen-drag-queen." But, despite myself, I have been bothered by something that hasn't struck me quite right.
Charlotte is astonishing because this dowdy cross-dresser survived both the Nazis and the subsequent communists to become the leading expert on the Grunderzeit period (approx. 1835-1918) of German furniture design.
That said, there is something strange at the core of this piece: this central character of Charlotte, this hopefully sympathetic trope for beauty and the everlasting human spirit, despite survival at all odds (or maybe because?)---is an empty, severely alienated person. "Autistic" and "disconnected" are the words that stick in my mind. He never really connects with anyone, hermetically sealed in a world of obsession for this furniture and a fantasy past constructed to block out horrible realities. He (debatably) sells out his friends. He is born, lives, and dies for (and with) . . . the furniture. I can't love him because he can't possibly love me back.
For an example of this genre where real human love and sacrifice are manifest, read the play "Bent."
This is my final analysis after discussing it with many friends.
The whole confection is tasty but, after the meal, there has been no lasting nourishment.
Again, it has been a fun process of discovery and I whole-heartedly recommend reading this play. Whaddaya think? Do you agree or disagree? Read and see.
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