Doug Wright’s fascinating one-man play, I Am My Own Wife, which portrays at least 35 characters, recently ascended from the Off-Broadway stage to a Broadway opening at the Lyceum Theatre. Multi-faceted OBIE Award winner Jefferson Mays’ chameleon-like performance skillfully displays such impeccable timing and clear-cut distinctions that you truly believe there is more than one per-son on the stage.

The play is set in 1990 and is based on Wright’s interviews with East German transvestite Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, who survived the Nazi-controlled Third Reich and the subsequent Gestapo-dominated Communist regimes. What kept Charlotte (who died at 74 in 2002) sane was her gradual retreat within her own home, “exiled” with her collection of antique furniture, clocks, Victrolas, and memories. Director Moises Kaufman and producers David Richenthal and Anthony and Charlene Marshall, in association with Playwrights Horizons, have brought us theater at its best.

Among those applauding on opening night were Frank Langella, who arrived with opera diva Renee Fleming; Rue McClanahan; the 101-year-old Brooke Astor; 60 Minutes’ Don Hewitt; and Martha Stewart (prior to her conviction), whom we caught up with at the party at the Supper Club following the show. The Domestic Diva admitted that the play brought her some entertaining relief from her current legal battle. When we asked her if she ever dreads the worst-case scenario, she told us, “I never go there. I am a positive person. I don’t like to put negative thoughts in my head.” She smiled and continued, “I also have a great lawyer who makes me laugh.”

Funny how one character’s exile can become another’s escape ....