One-person plays are not easy to do. You are alone on stage for an hour and a half, with only a brief intermission for you and the audience to catch your collective breaths.

Doug Wright’s Pulitzer and Tony Award winning play “I Am My Own Wife” requires the actor to play over three dozen characters from the 1930s to the 1990s.

Ed Shea, back on stage after a three-year hiatus, gives a remarkable performance, dressed only in a black tunic, head covering, string of pearls and orthopedic shoes, using only his voice and gestures to portray all of the characters. His accents are right on.

Based on the true story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, an East German transvestite and antiques collector who lived her life under the rule of both the Nazis and the Communists, both openly and in drag, the play raises a number of issues and questions about Mahlsdorf.

Get to the theatre a few minutes early and read Eileen Warburton’s essay, which puts the play into perspective and will make it easier for you to follow the events of this extraordinary story.

Mahlsdorf, although openly gay, was honored by the Germans with the Federal Cross of Merit as a cultural ambassador. The second act reveals that there may have been another side to him that allowed him to gain their favor.

While Mahlsdorf is the main character, Shea also portrays writers John Marks and Doug Wright who saw Mahlsdorf as a “gay hero.”

Was he/she? Information to the contrary comes out, and we wonder how Mahlsdorf was able to run a gay/lesbian cabaret in his/her basement.

While the play is primarily about Mahlsdorf, the effect that this complicated character had on Wright is also an important element, one which Shea handles passionately.

Director Ryan Maxwell sets the play on a bare stage, using a screen to aid her in suggesting different scenes, and some sound effects to create the sense of reality.

At one point, Shea/Mahlsdorf gives us a tour of his/her museum, and you can almost see the imaginary objects.

“I Am My Own Wife” is brilliantly written and requires a brilliant actor to perform. 2nd Story Theatre has that actor in Ed Shea.

“I Am My Own Wife” is at 2nd Story Theatre in Warren through Oct. 25. For reservations call 247-4200, or go online at boxoffice@2ndstorytheatre.com. Tickets are only $25.