I Am My Own Wife

By Doug Wright

Presented at BoHo Theatre @ Heartland Studio
January 15 — February 13, 2010

Directed by
Peter Marston Sulivan & Stephen M. Genovese

Produced by
Thomas J. Samorian

Cast: Peter Robel

Nominated for THREE Jeff Awards!!
Principle Actor (Play): Peter Robel
Outstanding Scenic Design: John Zuiker (winner)
Outstanding Lighting: Katy Peterson

Charlotte von Mahlsdorf was a 60-something transvestite who had survived both the Nazis and Communists, two very conformist regimes. At the time, she was living in a rural suburb, passing her senior years tending to an impressive hoard of 1890s collectibles, and leading tours through her stone mansion that doubled as a museum.

I Am My Own Wife tells of author Doug Wright's fascination with von Mahlsdorf. Born Lothar Berfelde, in 1928, Charlotte identified while still a teenager as a female spirit trapped in a male body, and openly cross-dressed most of her life. The first night that he met Charlotte, he realized that her story merited a play.

Guest artist, Actor's Equity actor, and BoHo Company member Peter Robel portrays more than 40 characters in a work that explores the will to survive.

BoHo is thrilled to present this extraordinary work, and is excited for audiences to witness the splendid work of Peter Robel in a role unlike any other in modern theatre. Both challenging and mesmerizing, the characters in I Am My Own Wife are ones to be remembered long after the stage lights fade.

Rave reviews for I Am My Own Wife:

"Completely captivating, wholly believable and shrewdly but subtly inscrutable, Robel (co-directed by Stephen M. Genovese and Peter Marston Sullivan), gives a bravura performance."
- Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times (Highly Recommended)

"There are several reasons why Bohemian Theatre Ensemble’s production of I Am My Own Wife is a masterpiece production. Once again they cement themselves as a shining example of the best that Chicago theater has to offer by creating an evening of intimately spellbinding magic."
- Venus Zarris, Chicago Stage Review (Highly Recommended)