Pandora Productions: BENT & I AM MY OWN WIFE

For the past decade or so Pandora Productions has been producing plays that engage the LGBTQ community. This weekend, Pandora Productions begins its run of Martin Sherman's Bent. Here's what their release says about the show:

Homosexuality runs through all classes of society and not all homosexuals were victims during the war. While many gay people who were too poor (like Horst) or too naïve (like Rudy) ended up in concentration camps, others used their money (like Uncle Freddie) or their power (like the concentration camp commandant or some of the German officers) to stay out of harm's way. Max occupies a middle spot in this spectrum between resistance and collaboration, as initially he tries to survive against all odds and perhaps later even escaping the camp, but he undergoes a transition because of Horst's influence and realizes one cannot always change one's luck through sheer willpower. The play was the first time that popular culture had acknowledged the fact that the gay men were victims of the Holocaust, and helped pave the way for more historical research and documentaries to be released about the fate of homosexuals under Nazi Germany.

BENT is showing May 7, 8, 9, 10, 22, 24 @ 7:30 p.m.; May 10 @ 2:00 p.m.

The next weekend begins Pandora's run of I Am My Own Wife. Again, I'll let their website do the talking:

I Am My Own Wife was the winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize and the 2004 Tony Award. Based on a true story, and inspired by interviews conducted by the playwright over several years, the play tells the fascinating tale of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a real-life German transvestite who managed to survive both the Nazi onslaught and the repressive East German Communist regime. Former theatre critic for the Courier-Journal, Roger Fristoe, stars in this one man tour de force directed by Rand Harmon of Specific Gravity Company.

I Am My Own Wife is showing May 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, 23 @ 7:30 p.m.; May 16 @ 2:00 p.m.

All plays are at the Bunbury Theater downtown. The Saturday show for BENT is already sold out! Ticket information here.