So you think you know Dr. Ruth?

You may know Ruth Westheimer as a renowned sex therapist, author and media personality. But do you know she started life as Karola Siegel, born in 1928 in Frankfurt, Germany? Do you that when she was 10, she was sent on a Kindertransport to Switzerland? That at 17 she trained in Palestine as a sharpshooter for the Haganah, which evolved into the Israel Defense Forces?

All this 〝 and much, much more 〝 is revealed in Mark St. Germain＊s play ※Becoming Dr. Ruth,§ which opens Dec. 4 at the New Jewish Theatre. The one-woman show is directed by Jerry McAdams who was able to interview St. Germain in New York earlier this year. 

Susie Wall will play Westheimer. Wall has appeared on local stages for more than 30 years and has performed at Cincinnati Playhouse, Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre, Totem Pole Playhouse in Pennsylvania, Okoboji Summer Theatre in Iowa and the Living Theatre in Turin, Italy. Wall also is known for her commercial and industrial film work. 

She made time recently to talk about the play with the Jewish Light. 

What did you know about Dr. Ruth before taking on this role?

All I knew about was Dr. Ruth＊s public life, that she was an icon with her radio show and books. I had no idea what she had been through, and I didn＊t know what a passionate person she was. Once I started delving into her life, I was totally blown away.

What amazed you most?

That she could survive after losing her parents and her grandmother at the age of 10, survive moving from country to country, overcome horrific events wherever she was. And yet, she＊s also funny. She is so much fun and tells so many jokes, some as a way to distract herself from serious moments. 

In her heyday, Dr. Ruth was a bit of a rock star, right?

Oh yes 〝 she met Bill Clinton when he was still governor of Arkansas, and she told him to run for president. Because of that meeting, Dr. Ruth got to attend Clinton＊s inauguration. She also met Paul McCartney.

Has any particular moment from her life stuck with you? 

After she divorced her second husband 

Dr. Ruth was living in an apartment in New York with her 1-year-old daughter, and all she had was one black corduroy suit and three blouses. 

What is particularly challenging about the role?

The accent. Dr. Ruth has talked about her German-French-Israeli-American accent, and it＊s hard. The play is 35 pages, and it＊s very challenging, piecing it all together 〝 plus there is a lot of physical stuff. 

Like what? 

The premise of the play is that Dr. Ruth is leaving her apartment after her third husband 〝 the love of her life 〝 has died. She is supposed to be packed, but she isn＊t. Instead, she is going through her things, recounting memories. 

Dr. Ruth is 86 now. When is the play set? 

It takes place in 1997, when she was 69. 

Is her popular radio show part of the play?

Oh yes 〝 three pages of the script are from the radio show, with people calling in. 

What else have you learned while working on ※Becoming Dr. Ruth?§ 

I＊ve learned so much about the Holocaust. The Holocaust Museum and Learning Center set up a tour for me so I could hear the stories, learn the details.

So there are references to the Holocaust in the script?

It＊s important in the show, because though Dr. Ruth knows her family was eventually sent to Auschwitz, there is no record of where they ended up, no paperwork about their deaths. She had always hoped that she would see them again. 

Yet she was able to move forward.

Yes. Dr. Ruth compares herself to a turtle 〝 she loves turtles. You have two choices, she says. You can stay in your shell and go nowhere or stick your neck out and go forward.

What do you hope the audience will take away from the show? 

I hope everyone learns some new thing, something they didn＊t know when they came in. And there is an important thread, a valuable insight that runs all the way through the play. 

What is that?

Everything Dr. Ruth went through, she did it all with an incredibly cheery nature. She says in the show that she was able to persevere because her grandmother always told her to smile and be cheerful because she was loved. That, she says, was what helped her survive.