Lyric continues season with "I Am My Own Wife"

(Oklahoma City) Lyric Theatre invites you into the fascinating world of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf as its season continues with the Tony Award-winning play I Am My Own Wife. Lyric favorite Matthew Alvin Brown portrays more than 30 characters in a tour-de-force performance, which runs March 29 through April 9 at Lyric at the Plaza.

I Am My Own Wife is the true story of von Mahlsdorf, Berlin’s most famous transvestite, who survived two of the most oppressive regimes of the 20th century: the Nazis and the Communists. Not long after the fall of the Berlin Wall, playwright Doug Wright began a conversation with the elegant and eccentric 65-year-old who hid from the Nazis in plain sight as a woman while operating a small antiques museum.

Von Mahlsdorf’s harrowing, and sometimes humorous, tales of survival through the eras of the Gestapo and the Stasi, the East German secret police, reveal a remarkable life lived. A life where one does what one must in the lion’s den.

“This is a fascinating tale inspired by interviews the playwright conducted over several years,” said Lyric’s Producing Artistic Director Michael Baron, who is also directing the show. “It’s an intimate look into the life of a person who, against all odds, survived turmoil, but makes us question at what cost.”

Brown has performed with Lyric for 22 years, most recently as Lee Harvey Oswald and Balladeer in the season opener Assassins. Other notable Lyric roles include Motel in Fiddler On The Roof, Sir Robin in Monty Python’s Spamalot, Eric Birling in An Inspector Calls and both Brad Majors and Riff Raff in The Rocky Horror Show.

Additionally, Brown performs with Lyric’s Interactive program, which brings theatre into schools across the state; and he instructs students in The RoKademY Experiment, which stages rock opera concerts at the Plaza Theatre each spring.

The creative team for I Am My Own Wife includes set design by Katie Sullivan and lighting design by Art Whaley. The production will feature costume design by Jeffrey Meek and sound design by Matthew Sykes.

Performances begin March 29 at Lyric at the Plaza, 1725 NW 16th St., through April 9. Show times are 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 p.m. on Fridays, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturdays and 5 p.m. on Sundays. The production contains adult content. Tickets start at $25 and are available at www.LyricTheatreOKC.com, or call (405) 524-9312. Discounts available for groups of 8 or more.

Founded in 1963, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma is the state's leading professional theatre company. Shows are presented at two Oklahoma City venues -- the intimate, 279-seat Plaza Theatre and the grand, 2,477-seat Civic Center Music Hall. Lyric is a nonprofit member theatre of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre and Allied Arts. For more information, visitwww.LyricTheatreOKC.com.

Copyright 2017 The Gayly – March 15, 2017 @ 2:15 p.m.