Most people know Dr. Ruth as the infamous sex therapist and media personality who charms and educates national audiences with her straightforward bedroom advice, but few know the remarkable story of the woman behind the celebrity.
Ruth Westheimer lost her family in the Holocaust, trained as a scout and sniper in
To see one's life portrayed by an actor on stage can be daunting, to say the least. When playwright Mark St. Germain originally approached Dr. Ruth about writing a play about her life, she turned it down. It wasn't until he brought her a draft of the script that she realized it was about more than just her career as a sex therapist. Now, Dr. Ruth loves the play and she said she's seen it around 20 times.
"It covers many aspects of my life," Westheimer said. "(It describes) my background, leaving Nazi Germany, growing up in an orphanage, being a sniper underground in the armed forces, and then it describes my marriages and my children. It's a very, very good play."
Although she won't be able to attend the
Matt Silva is the artistic director of Playhouse Productions, and when he saw the Off-Broadway production of the play, he loved it. He invited producer Philip Roger Roy to see the
Instead of starting the process from scratch, Silva,
As an actress performing a one-woman show about a living woman, Ridley doesn't take her job lightly. She focuses on humanizing Dr. Ruth, not just playing a character.
"I think the way to stay away from caricature is to live her story," she said. "It's my job as an actor ... to learn about my character and then step into her shoes and respond as a human being in those circumstances."
Ridley said the biggest challenge has been overcoming the differences between her and Dr. Ruth.
"She and I are very different from one another, in our life stories, in our size, the way we speak, (and) our gestural patterns," she said. "The transformational quality of the work is a challenge and a joy at the same time. It's what I do best and it's what I love to do, but that doesn't mean it isn't a challenge."
As a director, Silva said he has enjoyed working on the play. He sees it as an opportunity to explore the meaning of individual identity.
"The heart of the play is about upbringing and family, and how we progress in our lives," he said. "(It's important) to stop and take a minute from time to time to think about where we came from and what makes us, us."
"Becoming Dr. Ruth" opens Feb. 10. Tickets are available on the show's website.
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