SECRETS
The unsinkable Dr. Ruth
Victoria’s
Victoria
SCHNEPS
YUNIS
vschneps@gmail.com
tweet me @vschneps
What a night it was
when I arrived at the
American Hotel in
Sag Harbor to meet the iconic
and legendary sex therapist
Dr. Ruth Westheimer for her
93rd birthday celebration dinner
before accompanying her to see
herself portrayed in “Becoming
Dr. Ruth,” a one-woman show
starring Emmy Award nominee
Tovah Feldshuh at the reopening
of the renowned Bay Street
eatre.
It was an exciting night on
many levels, but for me, I found
the most joy in holding Dr.
Ruth’s so , delicate hands during
dinner.
We were a group of 12 people
seated at two tables and I
was told by organizer and hostess
Patti Kenner to sit next to
the honored guest. What a treat!
Life’s connectedness brought
me to the dinner, thanks to
my friend Upper East Side
Assemblywoman Rebecca
Seawright.
Dr. Ruth has a doctorate of
education from Columbia
University and is very proud of
her being a professor at several
CUNY schools. She seemed
especially proud of her honorary
doctorate recently awarded
from Ben-Gurion University of
the Negev and took delight in a
special pin she was given.
Holding her delicate but powerful
hands reminded me of the
last time I held the hands of my
beloved friend Claire Shulman
only days before she died at age
94. Claire was 5 feet 10 inches
tall and had large, yet so hands,
while Dr. Ruth is about 4 feet 7
inches tall and her hands are just
as tiny as she is. But, in holding
their hands, I felt both women’s
warmth and caring qualities.
Just like Claire, Dr. Ruth had a
remarkable way of making me
feel special.
To my surprise, as we talked,
she mentioned she is going to
Lake Oscawana for the weekend.
I said, with great joy, “that’s
where I spent every summer
of my life until I went to college!”
So many sweet memories
and I hope I can visit her
there to relive for a moment my
childhood on the lake.
A er dinner, I had the privilege
of driving her to the Bay
Street eatre, just down the
block. She le her extra bags in
my car and o ered innumerable
thanks for the ride. I told her it
was, in fact, my honor!
I thought I knew of Dr. Ruth,
the name she adopted with the
launch of her 1980 radio show
“Sexually Speaking,” but I
didn’t know she has written 45
books on sex and sexuality.
I also learned of this courageous
woman’s journey —she is
a Holocaust survivor — through
the powerful play we saw a er
dinner, “Becoming Dr. Ruth.” It’s
a masterfully written one-woman
play by renowned playwright
Mark St. Germain, who directed
the production in a way that
allowed Tovah, the talented starring
actress, to channel Dr. Ruth.
When we got to the theater,
Dr. Ruth directed the sta to seat
her out of view of Tovah and be
seated next to her husband, the
brilliant lawyer Andrew Levy. I
was seated one seat away from
Dr. Ruth and I kept my eyes on
her as her life was portrayed on
stage.
I never knew that Dr. Ruth was
one of a group of 300 children
sent to the safety of Switzerland
in 1939 by her mother and
grandmother as Hitler’s grip on
Germany tightened. Her father
had been taken away by the
Nazis just days before. She never
saw her family again.
But there is an indomitable
Enjoying dinner with Dr. Ruth at the American Hotel.
spirit in her that pushed her
forward from her “slavery” in
Switzerland to Paris and then
to Israel, where she joined the
underground Haganah, which
helped her survive and eventually
ourish in America.
Dr. Ruth’s story is one that
brought tears, fear and cheers
to my heart. Dr. Ruth sat at the
edge of her seat and laughed and
loved every moment of the play.
You can relish the 90-minute
performance until June 27.
Reservations can be made online
at baystreet.org.
Don’t miss the play, as you will
love it, too!
ANOTHER NIGHT TO
REMEMBER
My son Josh, the CEO of our
company, is leading the charge
on the food and wine events we
will be holding in the Hamptons
this summer.
One of the locations of the
fundraising dinner for the historic
and respected well-known
Guild Hall in East Hampton will
be the waterfront East Hampton
Point Hotel and Marina.
We were invited to a “friends
and family” introduction dinner
party and I delightedly accepted.
e stunning setting was created
by the new owner Heath
Freeman, a passionate Montauk
resident. He’s also the new owner
of Tribune Media, which is second
only to Gannett in the number
of daily newspapers published
nationwide. His holdings also
include the New York Daily News.
He and I bonded over our
mutual love of newspapers and
our wish to keep them sustainable.
Our company prints over
600,000 papers a week and most
of them are printed on the Daily
News’ presses, so we have a lot in
common.
Join us for the legendary wine
and food events this summer.
Check out the website danstaste.
com for more details!
Mayoral candidate Eric Adams spoke eloquently before
a group of businessmen and women about his vision
for a safe city and one that makes city agencies
expedite building projects and encourages the city’s economy
to again ourish.
Watermill resident
Caroline
Hirsch, owner
of Carolines on Broadway,
reopened her famed club
to a sold out crowd on
Memorial Day weekend.
We need the laughs!
Vincent Levien, Todd Shapiro and George Tunis
with Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.
Comedy so back!
Angela LaGreca and
Dr. Ruth behind the
scenes of “Becoming
Dr. Ruth.”
Dr. Ruth (r.) with Juliana Terrian and friend
Pamela Muller.
link
/baystreet.org
link
