I Am My Own Wife
My expectations were not particularly high when I went to Hartford Stage last Sunday night to see Doug Wright’s play, I Am My Own Wife. I have seen a number of plays with only a single actor or actress, and most have been disappointing. Not so with this play. Kathleen and I were both on the edge of our seats during the whole production, simply fascinated by the story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf. I gather that the author did indeed interview her extensively, and what is portrayed is largely her self reports of her life as a transvestite; a man who dressed and lived as a woman and was openly the center of Gay and Lesbian life in Berlin during both the Nazi and the Soviet rule. The author enters into a brief discussion of the difference between her self accounts and official records as well as press reports, and leaves unanswered the question of how one might resolve these conflicts.
James Lecesne plays almost three dozen characters in the course of the play using little besides his voice, movement and gestures to convey who is speaking. His skill is unbelievable, and you believe you have met all these different people. Costuming is no more than a skirt, blouse, shoes and a string of pearls donned early in the first act, and a similar but slightly different outfit for the briefer second act. The staging is very minimal, although the skillful use of perspective makes the stage seem much deeper than it is. All of the extensive furniture is added only by Charlotte’s description of the unseen pieces.
We had seen Lecesne before is the fast paced farce The Mystery of Irma Vep. In I Am My Own Wife he displays an entirely different repertoire of skills. It is a play well worth seeing.
I am looking forward to the summer season when Hartford Stage will present The Good Body by Eve Ensler, and Mahalia, A Gospel Musical.
My expectations were not particularly high when I went to Hartford Stage last Sunday night to see Doug Wright’s play, I Am My Own Wife. I have seen a number of plays with only a single actor or actress, and most have been disappointing. Not so with this play. Kathleen and I were both on the edge of our seats during the whole production, simply fascinated by the story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf. I gather that the author did indeed interview her extensively, and what is portrayed is largely her self reports of her life as a transvestite; a man who dressed and lived as a woman and was openly the center of Gay and Lesbian life in Berlin during both the Nazi and the Soviet rule. The author enters into a brief discussion of the difference between her self accounts and official records as well as press reports, and leaves unanswered the question of how one might resolve these conflicts.
James Lecesne plays almost three dozen characters in the course of the play using little besides his voice, movement and gestures to convey who is speaking. His skill is unbelievable, and you believe you have met all these different people. Costuming is no more than a skirt, blouse, shoes and a string of pearls donned early in the first act, and a similar but slightly different outfit for the briefer second act. The staging is very minimal, although the skillful use of perspective makes the stage seem much deeper than it is. All of the extensive furniture is added only by Charlotte’s description of the unseen pieces.
We had seen Lecesne before is the fast paced farce The Mystery of Irma Vep. In I Am My Own Wife he displays an entirely different repertoire of skills. It is a play well worth seeing.
I am looking forward to the summer season when Hartford Stage will present The Good Body by Eve Ensler, and Mahalia, A Gospel Musical.
No comments:
Post a Comment