Usher Nonsense #26 – I Am My Own Wife
I Am My Own Wife by By Doug Wright, Directed by Moisés Kaufman;
with Jefferson Mays (Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, et al.).
Sets by Derek McLane; Lighting by David Lander; Costumes by Janice
Pytel
Lyceum Theater
I guess I should call this one "The Minority Report" because I was the only one,
along with my chum, Annie, who didn't stand up at the end of this show.
Jefferson Mays is a wonderful performer with a wide range, and I Iook forward
to seeing him again. But this material just didn't add up for me. The story of
Charlotte von Mahlsdorf is fascinating in the extreme - a boy born in the 1920's
who discovers he would prefer to be a girl and decides to dress that way and live
his life as a transvestite. What a brave being. Somehow s/he not only survives,
s/he thrives as the "curator" of a museum filled with treasures that Derek McLean
reveals to the audience in a manner that is more magic than matter.
There are about 30 other characters Mays portrays, including the author himself,
and the piece became for me more about the journey of discovering who Charlotte
was than about Charlotte herself. And, because s/he created her life as a mystery,
I was left thinking this would have made a better documentary than a play.
The event was like watching a fine fine figure skater leap and twirl, but who had
to change character every time his skates hit the ice. Thus he stayed in the air or
glued to the ice as long as he could until the force of the tale moved him one way
or another. Mays seemed to be at the mercy of the piece, rather than being its
conduit.
© 2004 Tulis McCall
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