Time Stands Still
Watching four performers so at home in their roles and bringing their characters to true life is one of the joys of live theater. This is the case of the four outstanding actors in Time Stands Still playing at the Geffen Playhouse in Westwood. Credit also goes to the veteran director Daniel Sullivan who has accurately honed this production to a sharpness that is wonderful to watch, also to playwright Donald Margulies for an interesting real-life drama.
Taking place in a loft in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (a great set by John Lee Beatty), Photojournalist Sarah (Anna Gunn) is returning from convalescing in Vietnam after being seriously wounded in a roadside bombing. Her face is scarred and she is trying to balance herself on crutches with an injured leg and arm. She is experiencing a great deal of pain and fatigue and is lucky to be alive. Arriving with her, and trying to be of help, is her partner, foreign correspondent James. Though not married, they have had a long- time relationship until now when their bond seems to be under a great deal of strain. When the stress of the war in Vietnam became too much for James, he left to come home leaving Sarah there. She and James had been accompanied by a translator, Tariq, who was killed in the roadside bombing and Sarah cannot get over her feelings of his death and finally admits to James that, after he left, she and Tariq had an affair. Since he feels a great deal of guilt for having left her alone, he begs her to forgive him and to start over.
When their old friend Richard (Robin Thomas), the editor of the magazine where Sarah worked, stops by to see her upon her return, he arrives with his new girlfriend Mandy (Alicia Silverstone), a somewhat younger woman who he announces he intends to marry. Sarah is less than amiable to the couple, but eventually after Richard and Mandy marry, James convinces Sarah that it is time for them to stop their globetrotting, get married and settle down. She accepts, but after the wedding and some time passes, it is obvious that, though James is happy, Sarah finds dissatisfaction with her life and longs to return to her work. A rift develops in the marriage, and in the end, as James leaves the apartment, Sarah’s bags packed for her next assignment, the sound of his footsteps creates a lingering effect.
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Theater: Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., in Westwood, CA.
Web Site: http://www.geffenplayhouse.com/
Tickets: (310) 208-5454
Dates: through March 15, 200