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Stagewest to Host Drake Night for ‘I Am My Own Wife’

lehl
Philip Lehl

CONTACT: Lisa Lacher, 515-271-3119, lisa.lacher@drake.edu

StageWest is holding a Drake University night on Friday, April 6, for the play “I Am My Own Wife” starring Broadway actor Philip Lehl, a 1986 Drake graduate. There will be a special discount for members of the Drake community plus a talkback with Lehl following the show. The performance will start at 8 p.m. in the Civic Center’s Stoner Theatre, 221 Walnut St.

As StageWest describes the play: “Primary among the characters Lehl plays in the astonishing true story that is “I Am My Own Wife” is Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a German cross-dresser and celebrated antiques dealer who somehow survives under Nazi and Communist regimes. In later years, she was hailed as a cultural hero, but also reviled by those who accused her of collaborating with the Soviet secret police. Playwright Doug Wright is the other major character in his play as he attempts to separate the facts from the fictions in Charlotte’s remarkable life. Intellectual, theatrical, funny and poignant, it teaches us a history we never knew we had and unravels the story of one life.”

Tickets for the April 6 performance are discounted to $17.50 for friends of Drake and $10.50 for Drake faculty, staff and students with a Drake ID. The special tickets for Drake night will be available for direct purchase at the Civic Center Box Office (515-246-2300) or by contacting Ron Lambert at 515-243-0022 or roninsight@aol.com.

In an unprecedented collaboration between StageWest and Stages Repertory Theatre, the production will be performed in Houston in April and May, following its initial run in Des Moines.