I Am My Own Wife to Shutter on October 31

The Tony-winning play I Am My Own Wife will end its run at the Lyceum Theatre on October 31 after 26 previews and 365 regular performances. As previously reported, the venue's next tenant will be Whoopi Goldberg's one-woman show Whoopi, which is now scheduled to begin performances on November 6 in preparation for a November 17 opening.

Based on a true story, and inspired by interviews conducted by playwright Doug Wright over several years, 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. The one-man show stars Jefferson Mays as over 40 characters, including the controversial figure herself and the American writer who becomes intrigued by her.

I Am My Own Wife, directed by Moisés Kaufman, opened on Broadway on December 3, 2003 to positive reviews after an extended run at Playwrights Horizons. In his Broadway.com Review of the play, William Stevenson wrote: "It's Mays' superb performance that's responsible for I Am My Own Wife's move to Broadway. He makes Charlotte indelible--a kindly, unassuming preservationist who was above all a survivor… As the saying goes, you can't make this stuff up. Wright didn't, but he did shape it into an engrossing play. And Mays' dazzling performance deserves to be remembered at Tony time."

I Am My Own Wife won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award. Mays also won a Tony for Best Actor in a Play. He will star in a tour of the play, beginning at the Goodman Theatre on January 8.

Whoopi, directed by Mike Nichols, is coming to the Lyceum after a one-week engagement at Philadelphia's Merriam Theatre, beginning October 13. Whoopi is only scheduled to run on Broadway through January 30.