The camera can be a shield.
It has been for Sarah, the photojournalist in Live Theatre Workshopβs production of Donald Marguliesβ βTime Stands Still.β
She could frame the chaos of the war in Iraq and her world through the lens of the camera, allowing her distance. But when she is badly injured while on assignment, she comes home and finds her shield gone.
There are battles at home in the states for Shiela to contend with, such as her relationship with her partner, James, her parentsβ lousy marriage and an old boyfriend who shows up with a much younger woman.
And then there is the guilt felt by James, who is also a journalist. He had a breakdown in Iraq and returned to the states before Sarahβs accident.
Thereβs plenty of conflict in βTime Stands Still,β which the New York Times calls the playwrightβs best work since his Pulitzer Prize-winning βDinner With Friends.β
βMr. Margulies is gifted at creating complex characters through wholly natural interaction, allowing the emotional layers, the long histories, the hidden kernels of conflict to emerge organically,β the Times review said.
Eva Tessler directs and the cast is made up of Carley Preston, Christopher Younggren, Glen Coffman and Emily Gates.
Previews are 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21, and Friday, Feb. 22; opening is 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23. Regular performances are 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays through March 30 at Live Theatre Workshop, 5317 E. Speedway. There is an additional 3 p.m. matinee March 30. Previews and Thursday performances are $15, all others are $20.
It runs about two hours, with one intermission.
For more information, call 327-4242 or visit livetheatreworkshop.org
