Becoming Dr. Ruth

Dr. Ruth Westheimer had a great run as a pop culture icon 40 years ago: a diminutive matron (with a crazy accent) enthusiastically dispensing frank sex advice on the radio. But playwright Mark St. Germain goes deeper, digging into her rich backstory: She narrowly escaped the Nazis as a child, then become a Jewish sniper in Jerusalem, a psychologist in Paris, a single mom and sex therapist in America, and then belatedly, a celebrity. And visiting actress Anne O’Sullivan (who understudied the role during the play’s 2013 Off Broadway premiere) is thoroughly enjoyable as a happy, indefatigable survivor in this breezy, feel-good solo show. Th and F, 8pm; Sa, 5pm and 9pm; Su, 2pm; Tu, 6:30pm; W, 2pm and 6:30pm. $26-$38. Through 2/26. B Street Theatre, 2711 B Street; (916) 443-5300; http://bstreettheatre.org. J.H.