Most descriptions of “I Am My Own Wife” illustrate
the show with an image of a black dress and pearls, the costume
Jefferson Mays wears to play Charlotte von Mahlsdorf. With this
image in mind, I was curious to see what this Tony Award-winning
actor would wear for everyday interviews, when he’s not
playing an East German transvestite living during World War II.
He wore a blue and white pin-striped suit, yellow vest and straw
hat, naturally.
Listening to the cadence of his speech, which resembles the
sharp articulation of an old-time movie actor, it was hard to
imagine Mays as von Mahlsdorf, the main character in “I Am My
Own Wife.”
Somehow he does it. And he not only portrays her, but also about
40 other characters in her life. His ability to make audiences
comfortable with an offbeat character and tell her fascinating
story of survival during Nazi and Communist regimes won him the
2004 Tony Award for best actor in a play. “I Am My Own
Wife” opens in Los Angeles on June 14 at the Wadsworth
Theatre.
And to think, a nasty case of writer’s block almost kept
any of this from ever happening. Mays said Doug Wright, who wrote
“I am My Own Wife,” was stuck trying to figure out how
to properly portray von Mahlsdorf.
“When he met Charlotte, he thought, “˜I have to
dramatize this life.’ She was like this gay grandmother
figure,” said Mays. “Someone who survived the Nazis and
the Communists, living openly as a cross dresser, being completely
true to herself. How did she pull that off? How did she
survive?”
Wright’s initial fascination became confusion when he
found out about von Mahlsdorf’s flaws and discrepancies in
her story. For a decade, he struggled to find a way to tell the
story of her life without glorifying or insulting it.
Finally, a friend invited Wright to work out his confusion at
the Sundance Institute. Wright brought along friend and director
Moises Kaufman, who directed “The Laramie Project” and
was adept at dramatizing true stories. But Wright felt guilty about
bringing an entire cast and asked Mays to come read all the
parts.
“It did not start as a one-person show,” Mays said.
“In the same way that von Mahlsdorf had to adopt different
guises to negotiate this treacherous path during this troubled
time, we thought it might be interesting to have an actor who would
also morph and become (different people).”
Wright was finally unblocked. He was able to write a play where
von Mahlsdorf could tell her story, while the truth of her life
could be revealed through other characters.
So for the past two years, Mays has spent most of his evenings
in theaters around the world, wearing a black dress and pearls,
becoming all the people who make up von Mahlsdorf’s
story.
Mays is now a recognizable Broadway name, but he never received
formal acting training until he began UC San Diego’s graduate
drama program.
“I didn’t study theater at Yale, but I did a lot of
extracurricular theater. There were about 100 productions at Yale,
not necessarily in theaters, but in loading docks and basements and
squash courts and dining halls ““ all over the place ““
and I loved doing that. It was so much fun and it quickly eclipsed
my interest in academia,” Mays said.
He spent most of his three years at UCSD performing, which he
recommends aspiring actors do through the American regional theater
system.
“Every actor is faced with that option of, “˜Should I
go to Los Angeles and try to break into TV and film, or should I go
to New York?’ But for me, it was just as important to go and
do it while I could, and play great classical roles and work as
much as I could no matter where I was,” he said.
Now Mays is playing von Mahlsdorf across the country and has no
thoughts of doing anything else. After finishing the U.S. tour in
September, Mays will take von Mahlsdorf to Berlin, Vienna and other
theaters in Europe.
“It’s exhausting and it’s really a workout,
but it’s such a wonderful story to tell to fresh ears, and I
love doing it,” he said. “I’m looking forward to
going back to Eastern Europe, Vienna, London and Australia.
It’s like joining the Navy: Put on a dress and see the
world.”