News Release

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PlayMakers to present Pulitzer,
Tony winner ‘I Am My Own Wife’

CHAPEL HILL -- PlayMakers Repertory Company will present Doug Wright’s provocative one-person play, “I Am My Own Wife,” from Sept. 13-17 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Showtimes will be 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sunday; performances will be in the Elizabeth Price Kenan Theatre in the Center for Dramatic Art on Country Club Road.

“Wife” garnered a Pulitzer Prize, two Tony Awards and two Outer Critics’ Circle Awards during the 2004 Broadway season and was the Top Pick at the 2006 Stoneleaf Theatre Festival in Asheville.

The production will be the first in the new second-stage series guided by Joseph Haj, recently named producing artistic director of PlayMakers, the professional theater company in residence at UNC.

PlayMakers’ John Feltch will portray 35 characters, including central figure Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a transvestite who navigated life in East Germany under the Kaiser, the Nazis and the Communists. A collector of antiques, she herself is a museum piece, a link to a history both fascinating and frightening.

“The audience is really in for a treat as John masterfully transforms from character to character,” said PlayMakers’ Julie Fishell, who will direct the production. “His delicate performance is so spontaneous that a level of mystery is constantly present and ultimately intriguing.”

Wright’s depiction of the bravery, spirit, manipulation and forgiveness necessary for self-preservation has been called “quietly spellbinding” (Variety), “the most stirring new work to appear on Broadway” (The New York Times) and “vital, vibrant and fascinating” (USA Today).

Feltch appeared with PlayMakers last season in “Cyrano de Bergerac” and “The Front Page.” He was involved in more than 30 PlayMakers productions in the 1980s.

He has appeared in roles on and off-Broadway and in regional theatres. He was a company member at the Alley Theatre in Houston for 11 seasons. 

“Actors always want good stories to tell, and “Wife” is one of the best to appear in a long, long time,” Feltch said. “It's like a surfer finding a perfect wave; you feel lucky and scared and fully alive, and at the end, very wet.”

Fishell, an adjunct professor of dramatic art in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences, appeared most recently in PlayMakers’ productions of “Cyrano de Bergerac,” “Frozen” and “The Front Page.” She also has performed at The Kennedy Center, the Moscow International Theatre and numerous regional venues.

“Wife’s” production team includes designers Traci Meek (costumes), Michelle Moody (sets), Todd Campbell (lighting), and Michèl Marrano (sound).

Tickets are $24. Call (919) 962-PLAY (7529) for information or tickets. For more about PlayMakers, visit http://www.playmakersrep.org

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Photo URLs: http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/wife1.jpg
http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/wife5.jpg

PlayMakers contact: Pam O'Connor, (919) 621-1230, pamo@nc.rr.com
College of Arts and Sciences contact: Dee Reid, (919) 843-6339, deereid@unc.edu