In 2009, Ruehl returned to the Broadway stage in Manhattan Theater Club's production of Richard Greenberg's "The American Plan" playing the role of Eva Adler. The production opened at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre and the limited engagement ran From January 22 until March 22. In his rave review in "The New York Times", Ben Brantley called Ruehl's performance "masterly". Ruehl next appeared in the drama/horror film "What Ever Happened to Barker Daniels?", which was released in 2009. In January 2011, Ruehl starred in Sarah Treem's play "The How and The Why", directed by Emily Mann at McCarter Theatre of Princeton University.