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Regional Reviews: Minneapolis/St. Paul Becoming Dr. Ruth
Dr. Ruth Westheimer became a cultural icon in the early 1980's, remaining in the limelight for the next two decades. With a 4'7" grandmotherly persona and old world European accent, Dr. Ruth was America's unlikely champion of sex information and satisfaction, In fact, Dr. Ruth was 51 years old in 1980 when her first 15 minute long local radio show hit the airwaves in New York City. By 1982, she had a national TV show on the Lifetime Cable network. But the story that led her to become the nation's best known sex therapist is at least as fascinating as the advice she doled out to her radio and TV callers. Becoming Dr. Ruth, now receiving its upper Midwest premiere at the Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company, is that story. Mark St. Germain's one-actor play uses the device of placing the audience in the role of unexpected visitors whom the 69 year old Dr. Ruth regales with stories of her past It is 1997, two months after the death of her beloved third husband, Fred Westheimer. Dr. Ruth is preparing to move from the Washington Heights, New York apartment where she lived since her arrival to the United States in 1956. As she packs each book, framed photograph, or memento becomes a window into her fascinating life. Born in 1929 as Karole Ruth Siegel, a German Jew, she was an only child with loving parents. After the Nazis came to power, her merchant father was arrested and in 1939 her mother sent her to Switzerland for safe keeping through the war. She never saw either of her parents again. Though it is suspected they died at Auschwitz, she spent the rest of her life hoping to find some evidence that they had miraculously survived the holocaust. We learn about her unhappy existence through World War II in the Swiss Children's Home, after which she moved to Palestine and became a crack sharpshooter in the underground fighting for creation of the state of Israel —and where she gave up her German name for the Hebrew name, Ruth. She described with romantic flourishes her first marriage and move to Paris, her second marriage and move to the United States, her struggles as a single parent after her second marriage failed, and her third marriage to Fred, which thrived until his death. She tells us of her educational accomplishments at the Sorbonne, the New School and Teachers College of Columbia University, where she earned an EdD in Marriage and Family Therapy, shares her pride in her two children and her grandchildren, and of course tells us how a twist of fate led to her unexpected career as a mass media celebrity sex therapist. Throughout her story, Ruth returns to the importance of touch as a means of communication and comfort. She ties it back to her separation from her family, and there is no doubt that she felt the importance of loving touch, including sexual contact, as a means of strengthening relationships and affirming life. This positive view toward the physical elements of life made it possible for her to become Dr. Ruth, who counseled on the most specific details of sex without judgement or embarrassment. As a solo play, Becoming Dr. Ruth rises or falls on the quality of the performance. Miriam Schwartz does a wonderful job as she becomes Dr. Ruth over the 90 minute running time. Schwartz, a fine actress seen in several productions over the past few seasons, seems quite young to take on the role of 69 year old Dr. Ruth, and at first glance, the obviousness of her wig and her unwrinkled complexion do cause some concern. However, her movement captures the gait of aging, still frisky, yet deliberate in her footsteps, cautious when reaching to the high shelves of her towering book cases, and requiring effort to lifting herself from her chair. Her voice, ranges between the weight of her experience and her joy in having created a life that brought her love and meaning, all with a well-toned German-Jewish accent. Director Craig Johnson keeps the story moving at a fast clip, so though we are sitting through our one-sided conversation with Dr. Ruth, we never tire of either the tale or the character. The set, with two chock-full bookcases, and modest furnishings, looked exactly like the home of an aging intellectual, and her costume reflected the dignified, yet unpretentious look one would expect of her. The items on hand —knick-knacks of all types, photos taken with celebrities as well as family photos —and of course scores of books —add to the verisimilitude of the setting. Some of these allow for amusing asides, such as a photo of Dr. Ruth with President Clinton, another with Paul McCartney. Others bring out the most poignant of memories, such as a music box that plays the bedtime song her parents sang to her. Through the picture window at the rear of the apartment we see the George Washington Bridge, first by day, then lit up as if by stars at night. This backdrop becomes a screen to also show as photos of Dr. Ruth's family, the Swiss children's home, the kibbutz in Palestine, and other important people and places in her life. These well-chosen projections enhance our understanding of Dr. Ruth's life journey. While sharing her life story with us, Dr. Ruth is interrupted by phone calls from her business manager, the mover, and her two children. Her manager and children try to persuade her not to move, but she is determined. We only hear her side of the conversations, and never offers a clear explanation of why she wants to move after spending 41 years in this apartment, nor do we get a true sense of her children's or manager's objections to her move. This seems an effort to create dramatic tension in the play, but without giving us enough information to understand the push and pull, it feels like a dramatic artifice and detracts from Dr. Ruth's incredible narrative. The mover, on the other hand, has other business on the phone with Dr. Ruth, the non-judgmental sex therapist. That fits in beautifully. Her advice may cause some audience members to blush, but it is the most natural and healthy thing in the world to the girl who lived through the most turbulent of times to become Dr. Ruth. Becoming Dr. Ruth continues through August 30, 2015 at the Highland Park Community Center, 1978 Ford Parkway, Saint Paul, Minnesota. Tickets: $20.00 - $32.00, Student Rush tickets: $12.00. For tickets call 651-647-4315 or go to mnjewishtheatre.org. Written by Mark St. Germain; Director: Craig Johnson; Scenic Design: Kirby Moore; Costume and Properties Design: Liz Josheff Busa; Lighting Design: Paul Epton; Sound Design: Anita Kelling; Projections Design: Jonathan Gross; Dialect Coach: Foster Johns; Stage manager: Kelli Tucker Cast: Miriam Schwartz (Dr. Ruth Westheimer)
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