Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Theater Review: Time Stands Still

Journalistic Ethics with Some Romance on the Side
By Lauren Yarger
When does the journalist stop being a documenter of events and cross the line over to become a participant? For photographer Sarah Goodwin (Laura Linney) who survived a roadside bombing, the answer is never and it guides her career, as well as her relationships in Manhattan Theatre Club’s Broadway presentation of Donald Margulies’ new play Time Stands Still.

Surviving a coma and the explosion that killed her interpreter/lover and left the right side of her face scarred from shrapnel, Sarah returns to the apartment she shares with long-time, live-in boyfriend and fellow journalist James Dodd (Brian D’Arcy James). Welcoming her home are Richard Ehrlich (Eric Bogosiam), her editor at the magazine, and also her former lover, and his new, very much younger, event-planner girlfriend Mandy Bloom (a very engaging Alicia Silverstone) who is pregnant.

The bombing has put things in perspective for James, riddled with guilt for having left Sarah in the field prior to the bombing. He wants to marry her, give up the globe-trotting existence of a war correspondent and settle down for a normal life with kids.

Meanwhile, Richard ties the knot with Mandy, whom Sarah thinks is rather simple and not up to the intellectual speed of the rest of the group. The naïve know-nothing is the one who asks the hard questions, though, like how can Sarah stay behind her lens and photograph all the suffering she sees without putting the camera down to help the person in need? A journalist’s job is to record so others will know what is happening, Sarah quickly replies, not to change the events. She can’t think about what she’s photographing—time just stands still. The realization that she lives off the suffering of strangers does give her pause, however.

It soon becomes apparent that the “stay distant” philosophy applies to James too. She’s willing to view the relationship through the safety of a lens, but isn’t willing to step into the picture frame. She agrees to marry him, more out of gratitude than real affection, which she had transferred to the lover lost in the bombing. When Richard suggests a book featuring a collage of Sarah’s photographs and James’ written recollections, the flaws in their relationship are exposed.
The performances, directed by Daniel Sullivan, are good and Linney particularly masters sarcastic tones that make even one-word responses very funny. While I found Margulies’ play interesting because it touches upon ethics questions long a part of my life as a journalist, I’m not sure the regular theater-goer will be so interested as there isn’t much plot other than exploring the minds of the characters. At the end of Act One, I wondered why we needed an Act 2. Margulies does comes through with an interesting second half, but again, perhaps only if you’re interested in the journalistic questions that arise.

Sarah is feisty, and a talented photographer, but pretty rude and self-absorbed and we wonder what James and Richard (never mind the dead interpreter) ever saw in her. Mandy, who wishes James and Sarah could see beauty instead of misery all the time, seems to be the smartest one around.

The apartment set created by John Lee Beatty is rather drab with a few “exotic” pieces presumably from some of the couple’s overseas travels scattered about, but lacks any touches you would expect from a photographer with an artistic eye who has lived there for years, like maybe some photographs. Could it be that this is evidence of Sarah’s lack of involvement in the relationship? Perhaps.

Time Stands Still plays through March 27 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, 261 West 47th St., NYC. Tickets are available by visiting http://www.manhattantheatreclub.com/. Special discounted group tickets are available for friends of Masterwork Productions at http://www.givenik.com/?code=Masterworks.

Christians might also like to know:
• The couple lives together, but are not married
• Lord’s name taken in vain
• Language
• Film clip depicting violence

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Our reviews are professional reviews written without a religious bias. At the end of them, you can find a listing of language, content or theological issues that Christians might want to know about when deciding which shows to see.

** Mature indicates that the show has posted an advisory because of content. Usually this means I would recommend no one under the age of 16 attend.

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

My Bio

Lauren Yarger has written, directed and produced numerous shows and special events for both secular and Christian audiences. She co-wrote a Christian musical version of “A Christmas Carol” which played to sold-out audiences of over 3,000 in Vermont and was awarded the Vermont Bessie (theater and film awards) for “People’s Choice for Theatre.” She also has written two other dinner theaters, sketches for church services and devotions for Christian artists. Her play concept, "From Reel to Real: The Jennifer O'Neill Story" was presented as part of the League of professional Theatre Women's Julia's reading Room Series in New York. Shifting from reviewing to producing, Yarger owns Gracewell Productions, which produced the Table Reading Series at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, CT. She trained for three years in the Broadway League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Intensive and other training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway run. She was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She wrote reviews of Broadway and Off-Broadway theater (the only ones you can find in the US with an added Christian perspective) at http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/.

She is editor of The Connecticut Arts Connection (http://ctarts.blogspot.com), an award-winning website featuring theater and arts news for the state. She was a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com. She previously served as theater reviewer for the Manchester Journal-Inquirer, Connecticut theater editor for CurtainUp.com and as Connecticut and New York reviewer for American Theater Web.

She is a Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter of the League of Professional Theatre Women. She is a former vice president and voting member of The Drama Desk.

She is a freelance writer and playwright (member Dramatists Guild of America). She is a member if the The Outer Critics Circle (producer of the annual awards ceremony) and a member of The League of Professional Theatre Women, serving as Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter. Yarger was a book reviewer for Publishers Weekly A former newspaper editor and graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Yarger also worked in arts management for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and served for nine years as the Executive Director of Masterwork Productions, Inc. She lives with her husband in West Granby, CT. They have two adult children.

Copyright

All material is copyright 2008- 2022 by Lauren Yarger. Reviews and articles may not be reprinted without permission. Contact reflectionsinthelight@gmail.com

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Key to Content Notes:

God's name taken in vain -- means God or Jesus is used in dialogue without speaking directly to or about them.

Language -- means some curse words are used. "Minor" usually means the words are not too strong or that it only occurs once or twice throughout the show.

Strong Language -- means some of the more heavy duty curse words are used.

Nudity -- means a man or woman's backside, a man's lower front or a woman's front are revealed.

Scantily clad -- means actors' private areas are technically covered, but I can see a lot of them.

Sexual Language -- means the dialogue contains sexually explicit language but there's no action.

Sexual Activity -- means a man and woman are performing sexual acts.

Adultery -- Means a married man or woman is involved sexually with someone besides their spouse. If this is depicted with sexual acts on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Sex Outside of Marriage -- means a man and woman are involved sexually without being married. If this is depicted sexually on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Homosexuality -- means this is in the show, but not physically depicted.

Homosexual activity -- means two persons of the same sex are embracing/kissing. If they do more than that, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Cross Dresser -- Means someone is dressing as the opposite sex. If they do more than that on stage the listing would include the corresponding "sexual activity" and/or "homosexual activity" as well.

Cross Gender -- A man is playing a female part or a woman is playing a man's part.

Suggestive Dancing -- means dancing contains sexually suggestive moves.

Derogatory (category added Fall 2012) Language or circumstances where women or people of a certain race are referred to or treated in a negative and demeaning manner.

Other content matters such as torture, suicide, or rape will be noted, with details revealed only as necessary in the review itself.

The term "throughout" added to any of the above means it happens many times throughout the show.

Reviewing Policy

I receive free seats to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows made available to all voting members of the Outer Critics Circle. Journalistically, I provide an unbiased review and am under no obligation to make positive statements. Sometimes shows do not make tickets available to reviewers. If these are shows my readers want to know about I will purchase a ticket. If a personal friend is involved in a production, I'll let you know, but it won't influence a review. If I feel there is a conflict, I won't review their portion of the production.

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