Center Stage Theater Presents TIME STANDS STILL by Award Winning Playwright Donald Margulies, Now thru 5/11

Relationships, mid-life crisis and ties of friendship are at the center of Pulitzer Prize winner Donald Margulies powerful and often hilarious story in TIME STANDS STILL. Sarah Goodwin, a globe-trotting photojournalist, has just returned home from the battlefields of Iraq, having been critically injured by a roadside bomb while covering a story. Sarah's boyfriend, James, a foreign correspondent himself, is terrified about the possibility of losing her and guilt-ridden about leaving her in harm's way shortly before the attack.

Producer-Director Peter Frisch directs the production, running today, May 2 through May 10 at Center Stage Theater in the Paseo Nuevo Mall, the center of downtown. This Broadway-hit play is a smart and insightful look at what happens when ordinary life is refracted through the lens of war. The play's subtle shifts in personal relationships against a background of violent world events provide a deeply moving journey for audiences.

TIME STANDS STILL offers an authentic journey into the experiences of those who have been shaken by the effects of war; and most especially for those who have witnessed it up close and personal- as did the play's lead character Sarah Goodwin, a photojournalist assigned in Iraq. She notes in a dialogue that hits the ear as real, "When I look through that little rectangle...Time stops. It just...All the noise around me...Everything cuts out. And all I see...is the picture." The New York Times said, "Time Stands Still crackles with bright wit and intelligence."

The Producing Unit evolved out of the advanced/professional class of The Frisch Studio. Last year the company produced God of Carnage, the Tony Award-Winning play by Yasmina Reza. Professional actors from the Studio are matched with outstanding members of the regional acting pool to create first-rate productions of cutting edge works featuring performances that plumb beneath the surface and offer surprising and powerful experiences for viewers. Two more productions are currently in The Producing Unit pipeline, including a short film.

TIME STANDS STILL features Ivy Vahanian, Bill Egan, Janelle Odair, and Thom Zimerle, whose credits include Broadway, LA film and TV and the regional theatre. Mr. Frisch has directed 160 productions in New York and regional theatre; additionally he has produced 150 hours of network television. He is best known in the area for supervising the restoration of the Granada Theatre and it's grand re-opening.

Production dates and times for TIME STANDS STILL are today, May 2 through 11 with a preview performance May 1. Evening performances are at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Friday & Saturday; matinees on Sunday, May 4 and Saturday, May 10 @ 2:30 p.m. Center Stage Theater, 751 Paseo Nuevo on the second floor arts complex. Box Office is open Wed. - Sat. 12 noon to 5 p.m. and one hour prior to all shows. You can purchase your tickets online 24/7 at www.centerstagetheater.org as well. Box Office phone (805)963.0408. Center Stage is wheelchair accessible and has the assistive listening system in place for patrons who are hard of hearing.

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