Episode 74: Sarah Ruhl

She’s a celebrated playwright who’s had her share of health challenges. Sarah Ruhl is the author of Eurydice which will have its premiere as an opera at Lincoln Center in November. Ruhl is also a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist for her plays The Clean House and In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play). After giving birth to twins, a hospital worker noticed that Ruhl’s eye was droopy. This turned out to be Bell’s palsy, which caused paralysis on the left side of Ruhl’s face. Angelina Jolie also had Bell’s palsy but hers lasted for months. Ruhl dealt with a frozen face for a decade. She’s written a book about the experience called Smile. We talk about where that journey has taken her and the joy of working in the theater once again.