JOEY STEINHAGEN/Provided Harry Bouvy stars in the Hangar Theatre?s production of ?I Am My Own Wife, as Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a German transvestite who lived through the Nazi and Communist regimes and survived to share her fascinating account. Provided Wendy Dann, director of the Hangar Theatre's "I Am My Own Wife."

Written by Doug Wright and based on a true story, "I Am My Own Wife" tells the tale of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a real-life German transvestite who managed to survive the Nazi onslaught as well as the following, repressive Communist regime. Wright conducted several interviews with von Mahlsdorf, which he weaves into the play.

Directed by Wendy Dann, the one-man play stars New York-based actor Harry Bouvy ("Stones in His Pocket," Hangar 2003) as over 35 characters, including the controversial figure herself and the American writer who became intrigued by Charlotte. Bouvy also recently was featured in the national tour of "The Producers," in which he played the role of Carmen Ghia, receiving a Helen Hayes nomination for his performance.

This is the regional premiere of "I Am My Own Wife," for which Wright won a 2004 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award. The New York Times has described the play as "fascinating and beautifully written." The New York Post hailed it as "the dramatic event of the year," and "an amazing theatrical experience," while the Wall Street Journal said, "everything about 'I Am My Own Wife' is outstanding."

Kevin Moriarty, the Hangar's artistic director, selected the play because, "at its core 'I Am My Own Wife' celebrates the power and necessity of story telling in our lives. It is this awareness of the power of self-creation that makes it seem inevitable that a single actor must tell this epic story."

The Hangar's associate artistic director, Dann most recently directed the Hangar's 2004 season-ending production of "Cats," with previous Hangar credits including "The Blue Room," "Stones in His Pockets," "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "The Truth About Dinosaurs."

Earlier this week, Dann talked about her latest Hangar project:

Ticket: Had you seen the play before?

Dann: No, I didn't see it before this production. As a director, I prefer not having seen it. Then when you read the play, your imagination can really take off on its own in terms of what you see in its head. So I definitely prefer that.

But what's nice is that the actor, Harry Bouvy, actually did see it in New York. He knows what they did in that production, but I don't, so there's this great combination in the room of both worlds.

Ticket: What are the challenges of directing a one-person play?

Dann: A lot of people ask me that. I think a directing a one-person play is a totally different skill. I directed "Cats" last year, which had 20 people on stage and you had to control an entire stage picture. With a one-person show, it's more like I'm his mirror, in a way, reflecting for him what's happening-what's working and not working.

The joke about a one-person show is that you cast the right person and then get out of the way. For me, in some ways it's a little easier, because he is so enormously gifted, and it seems like he's got this really deep well of people inside of him. So he'll come up with all these different physical choices and vocal choices. Then it becomes my job to say, "That works" or "That makes sense," or to say, "I don't think that's clear, I can't follow the story here" or "How can we use your body to make this clearer?" It's kind of casting myself as an audience member. It's actually sort of fun to sit back and be the mirror for him.

Ticket: Why do you think this play has been so well received?

Dann: It's a deeply important play about how we see each other as human beings and how we keep history. Because this character kept a museum of furniture for more than 30 years, and is kind of preserving history in a way. So that becomes a metaphor in the play for how she preserves herself and how we preserve our humanity, during a time under the Third Reich when people were destroying humanity. She was working really hard to preserve it, and then this playwright preserves her story.

One of the exciting things about the play is that storytelling--how we tell one another our stories, how we record them, how we keep our own history. It's a history that we're recording that's actually the truth. It's fascinating.

"I Am My Own Wife" will appear at the Hangar Theatre in Cass Park through July 2. Tickets may be purchased at the Ticket Center at the Clinton House (116 N. Cayuga Street) or by calling 273-4497.

For more information about "I Am My Own Wife," visit www.hangartheatre.org.

Originally published Thursday, June 23, 2005