DR. RUTH, ALL THE WAY Comes to TheaterWorks, 5/31-7/7

Everyone knows Dr. Ruth from her career as a pioneering radio and television sex therapist. Few, however, know the incredible journey that preceded it. From fleeing the Nazis in the Kindertransport and joining the Haganah in Jerusalem as a scout and sniper, to her struggles to succeed as a single mother coming to America, Dr. Ruth, All the Way is filled with the humor, honesty and life-affirming spirit of Karola Ruth Siegel, the girl who became "Dr. Ruth."

Direct from its sold-out World Premiere at Barrington Stage Company, Dr. Ruth, All The Way will be directed by Julianne Boyd co-founder and Artistic Director of Barrington Stage Company (BSC). TheaterWorks' production will be a revised version of BSC's production starring stage, film and television actress Debra Jo Rupp (Kitty Forman on That 70's Show). Dr. Ruth, All the Way will run May 31st through July 7th, 2013.

Mark St Germain, acclaimed playwright of The Best of Enemies and Freud's Last Session, deftly recounts Dr Ruth's life with warmth, wisdom and an irrepressible joie de vivre. Debra Jo Rupp, in an outstanding tour-de-force performance, captures all these qualities in a sensitive and nuanced portrayal.

The production design team includes Brian Prather (Sets/Projections), Scott Pinkney (Lights), Jennifer Mueller (Costumes), Gabriella Pollino-Rodman (Wigs) and Jessica Paz (Sound). Production Manager is Michael Lenaghan.

The show runs May 31 through July 7, 2013, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays: 7:30 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays: 8:00 p.m. and Weekend Matinees: 2:30 p.m. Press Opening is Friday, June 7th at 8:00 p.m.

The Lobby and Gallery of American Art, sponsored by The Hartford Financial Services Group, opens 90 minutes prior to curtain; seating starts 60 minutes prior. TheaterWorks is located at City Arts on Pearl - 233 Pearl Street in Downtown Hartford.

Parking: Discounted parking is available to TheaterWorks' patrons for $5 at CityPlace Garage (diagonally up Pearl Street from TheaterWorks), 100 Trumbull Centre Garage (enter next to Quiznos) and the Q Lot, (adjacent to the Metropolitan apartment building).

Admission: All Seats - General Admission: $50; Senior Discount - Saturday matinees: $35; Center Reserved Service Charge: $13; College-age Student Rush w/ID: $17 (subject to availability). For seats, call 860.527.7838. For more information, visit www.theaterworkshartford.org.

Debra Jo Rupp (Dr. Ruth) Barrington Stage Company: Ring 'Round the Moon, To Kill a Mockingbird and The Laramie Project. Debra Jo Rupp is never happier than when she is performing on stage in the Berkshires, close to home. She has performed at Williamstown Theatre Festival in True West and A Flea in Her Ear, Berkshire Theatre Festival in Mornings at Seven and the Chester Theatre Company production of Lee Blessings' Body of Water. In New York, Debra Jo has appeared on Broadway with Kathleen Turner and Charles Durning in the 1990 revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. She starred Off-Broadway in Cynthia Heimel's A Girl's Guide to Chaos (American Place), Frankie and Johnny in The Clair de Lune (Westside Arts) and The Butcher of Baraboo (Second Stage). Other Regional: Blithe Spirit and The Middle Ages (Whole Theatre Co.), Taking Steps (Virginia Stage Co.), Wall of Water (Yale Rep), Noises Off (Cape Playhouse), Moonlight and Valentino (Shafer Theatre). Debra Jo has made over 300 television and film appearances and is probably best known for her role as "Kitty Forman" on the hit series "That 70's Show". Her feature films include playing Jay Baruchel's mom in She's Out of My League, Kickin It Old Skool, Air Buddies, Clockwatchers with Toni Collette and Parker Posey, Spymate, Lucky 13, Sgt. Bilko with Steve Martin and Dan Aykroyd, and her first film Big with Tom Hanks. Among her notable television appearances are booking agent "Katie" on "Seinfeld", Phoebe's sister-in-law on Friends and From the Earth to the Moon (dir. Sally Field), ER, The Office and Better With You to name a few.

Mark St Germain (Playwright) is the acclaimed playwright of The Best of Enemies and Freud's Last Session. Freud's Last Session, Barrington Stage Company's longest running play, has played over 700 performances Off-Broadway, and has been performed nationally and internationally. He's written Ears on a Beatle (BSC),The God Committee (BSC) and Out of Gas on Lover's Leap. Other plays include Camping with Henry and Tom (Outer Critics Circle Award and Lucille Lortel Award) and Forgiving Typhoid Mary. Mark co-wrote the screenplay for Carroll Ballard's Warner Brothers film, Duma. He most recently directed and produced the documentary My Dog, An Unconditional Love Story, featuring Richard Gere, Lynn Redgrave and Glenn Close among many others. It was chosen to be the first documentary shown on the Oprah Winfrey Network. Television credits include Writer and Creative Consultant for The Cosby Show, Life Stories and Dick Wolf's Crime and Punishment. With Randy Courts, he has written the musicals The Gifts of the Magi, Johnny Pye and the Foolkiller, winner of an AT&T "New Plays for the Nineties Award," both produced at the Lamb's Theater, NYC. Jack's Holiday was produced at Playwrights Horizons. Mark's musical, Stand By Your Man - The Tammy Wynette Story was created for Nashville's Ryman Theater and has toured nationally. Mark wrote the children's book Three Cups, illustrated by April Willy. He is an alumnus of New Dramatists where he was given the Joe A. Callaway Award, a member of the Dramatists Guild and the Writer's Guild East. He was awarded the New Voices in American Theatre award at the William Inge Theatre Festival. Mark is a Board Member and Associate Artist at Barrington Stage Company.

JUILIANNE BOYD (Director) co-founded the Barrington Stage Company in January, 1995. Her directorial credits at BSC include last season's critically acclaimed production of The Best of Enemies, Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2010), A Streetcar Named Desire (2009), the 2005 production of Follies, the world premiere musical The Game, based on Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Mack and Mabel, Cyrano de Bergerac and The Importance of Being Earnest. In 1997 she directed BSC's smash hit production of Cabaret, which won six Boston Theatre Critics Awards and transferred to the Hasty Pudding Theatre in Cambridge for an extended run. Ms. Boyd conceived and directed the Broadway musical Eubie!, a show based on the music of Eubie Blake which starred Gregory Hines and garnered three Tony nominations. She also co-conceived and directed (with Joan Micklin Silver) the award-winning Off-Broadway musical revue A...My Name Is Alice (Outer Critics' Award) and its sequel A...My Name Is Still Alice. From 1992 to 1998 Ms. Boyd served as President of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, the national union representing professional directors and choreographers in the U.S.

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