Act 2 Summary

Act Two opens to the sound of music cut short by the slamming of a prison door. The lights come up on Alfred Kirschner, a thin prisoner with thick glasses. He addresses Charlotte in a letter as if she were the audience. In "A Letter From Prison," Alfred is writing a letter to Charlotte. He describes the loneliness he feels when he does not receive mail and his happiness at receiving her letter. He tells her about the headaches and dizzy spells he's been having and the dentist that keeps pulling his teeth. He closes his letter by saying that when he's released, he'll play his favorite waltz, probably Strauss, on the piano.

Alfred morphs into Doug, and a new scene, "Erasure," begins. Doug tells Charlotte that her Stasi file is frustrating to him because repeated references to an antiques dealer that she...