BECOMING DR. RUTH is Final Production of Square One Theatre's 27th Season Anniversary Season

Square One Theatre concludes its current season with the stage production of Becoming Dr. Ruth, which is filled with the humor, honesty and life-affirming spirit of Karola Ruth Siegel, the girl who would later become Dr. Ruth Westheimer.

Most everyone knows Dr. Ruth Westheimer from her career as America's foremost pioneering sex therapist. However, very few know her backstory from fleeing Nazi Germany in the Kindertransport, to joining the Haganah, the Jewish underground freedom fighters in Jerusalem first as a scout and then a sniper, to her struggles to succeed as a single mother after coming to America. According to The New York Times "[Dr. Ruth's] story is certainly a stirring one...[and this is] an illuminating portrait." The New Yorker said "It's a simple premise, which is fascinating (and heartbreaking) all on its own. The playwright convincingly and humorously conveys Westheimer's surprising dignity, courage, and resilience."

Becoming Dr. Ruth features the Square One Subscribers' award-winning favorite Alice McMahon as Dr. Ruth and is directed by Tom Holehan.

Becoming Dr. Ruth opens on Thursday, May 4 (2017) and continues Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Sunday, May 21. Performances are literally on the stage of Stratford Academy located at 719 Birdseye Street in Stratford, Connecticut...off I-95 Exit 32 (northbound and southbound).

Becoming Dr. Ruth by Mark St. Germain is a great deal more than shortness jokes (Dr. Westheimer is 4 feet 7) and sexual humor. The script is sprinkled with both, but a tragic childhood lies behind her omnipresent broad smile and constant chirpiness. She was Karola Ruth Siegel, who was born in 1928 in Germany to Orthodox Jewish parents, less than five years before Hitler became chancellor. She was one of the lucky ones, because she was sent at age 10 to live in Switzerland as part of Kindertransport, a program that saved thousands of Jewish children.

When she moved to the United States, all it took was a radio show ("Sexually Speaking," which began in 1980) to make her a star. Audiences fell in love with the idea of a petite matronly lady with a high-pitched, German-accented voice speaking frankly about personal sexual matters on the radio.

Alice McMahon's Square One Theatre credits include: Good People, Olive and the Bitter Herbs, Southern Comforts, Rabbit Hole, Talking Heads, As It Is In Heaven, Wonderful World, Later Life, Not Waving, Hay Fever, Three Viewings. Other stage credits include: Love, Loss & What I Wore, Come Back, Little Sheba (Pound Ridge Theatre) And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Katonah Community Theatre) Deathtrap, Light Up the Sky, Barefoot in the Park, Invitation to a March (Country Players of Brookfield) and Blithe Spirit (Wilton Play Shop). She is the recipient of Square One Subscriber Awards for Outstanding Actress (Southern Comforts, Not Waving), Outstanding Featured Actress (Later Life). She is a graduate of American Academy of Dramatic Arts and holds a Masters of Theatre History from UConn and Masters of Library Science from Long Island University and is employed as librarian at Greenwich Library.

Playwright Mark St. Germain's other plays include Freud's Last Session, Scott and Hem in the Garden of Allah, Best of Enemies, Camping with Henry and Tom and Out of Gas on Lover's Leap. He is the recipient of Awards from Lucille Lortel, Off Broadway Alliance and Outer Critics Circle. In addition, he is an Associate Artist of the Barrington Stage Company, a member of the Dramatist Guild, the Writers Guild East, alumnus of New Dramatists and a member of the HB Playwrights Unit.

Performances of BECOMING DR. RUTH are:

Thursday, May 4 (2017) at 7pm (time is correct)

Friday, May 5 at 8pm

Saturday, May 6 (two performances) at 4pm (twilight matinee) and at 8pm

Sunday, May 7 at 2pm (matinee)

Thursday, May 11 at 7pm (time is correct)

Friday, May 12 at 8pm

Saturday, May 13 (two performances) at 4pm (twilight matinee) and at 8pm

Sunday, May 14 at 2pm (matinee)

Thursday, May 18 at 7pm (time is correct)

Friday, May 19 at 8pm

Saturday, May 20 (two performances) at 4pm (twilight matinee) and at 8pm

Sunday, May 21 at 2pm (matinee - final performance)

Single tickets are $20 for adults and $19 for senior citizens and students.

Tickets may be purchased:

By phone: Box Office at 203.375.8778 (24/7)

Online at: squareonetheatre.com

In person: at box office 60 minutes prior to each performance

All performances are literally on the stage of Stratford Academy located at 719 Birdseye Street in Stratford, Ct....off I-95 Exit 32 (northbound and southbound) in Stratford Center.

Those new to Square One Theatre should set GPS for 719 Birdseye Street in Stratford, Connecticut.

The stage at Stratford Academy is wheelchair accessible. Please inform the box office of any special needs when reserving tickets.

For more information and up-to-date news about parking, the theatre, the plays, and the actors visit squareonetheatre.com

On Tuesday, May 23, the Friends of Square One Theatre invite audience members and the general public to Play It Again, Square One for a post-performance wrap-up of Becoming Dr. Ruth with Alice McMahon and director Tom Holehan at 12noon in the Lovell Room of the Stratford Library located at 2203 Main Street in Stratford, Connecticut. Free coffee and tea will be available, participants may bring a sandwich.

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