When you witness/experience a horrible tragedy, can you ever be the same person you were before this tragedy'
If your job entails capturing horrific moments, but stepping in to stop them would be a breach of contract, should you try to stop them anyway'
These questions are at the crux of Donald Margolis’s 'Time Stands Still'.Between The Lines Studio’s production of 'Time Stands Still' starts with a gripping off-stage interview, which sets the mood for the show.Rachel Williams and Eric D. Hersh, as long-time couple Sarah Goodwin and James Dobbs, are charming and lovable.
Sarah’s fierce independence provides excellent fodder for James’s overprotectiveness.The second couple in this play, Mandy Bloom and Richard Ehlrich, also play very well off each other.
Jen Santos as Mandy starts out happy and excitable, and Jason Roth as Richard starts out very nervous (in a good way!)
Rothd attempts to temper Bloom’s various “foot-in-mouth” statements.From the beginning of the show, the audience can tell that this will not be an “escape from reality” type of show.
Instead, 'Time Stands Still' forces the audience to deal with reality.
The main female character (Goodwin) has just come off a two-week induced coma, which she was put into after surviving a roadside bomb while on assignment as a photojournalist.
As a result, her right leg and arm are broken, and the right side of her face is severely disfigured with scars.The range of all four actors is impressive.
For example, while Sarah does start out as fiercely independent, she later reveals in the show that she suffers from PTSD due to all she has witnessed even before experiencing the roadside bomb, and thus her independence is really a cover-up for here extreme vulnerability.
James is overprotective of Sarah not only because of her physical and mental state, but also because he is afraid of losing her love.
Williams and Hersh both express their vulnerabilities in very believable ways.
On the flip side, Mandy appears childlike and immature, but she really has the most wisdom in a way. She is the one who confronts Sarah about whether as a photographer, one should attempt to stop catastrophes or if one should “capture the truth”.
Richard is a mostly rational character, but there are some moments, as mentioned previously, that reveal him to be very nervous, as well as excitable and demanding.
Both Santos and Roth transition quite easily from one extreme of their characters to the next.Time Stands Still is a poignant commentary on the realities of war.
There is one more chance to see it, today at 2 pm at Civic 514.
Tickets are $14 adults and $12 students/seniors.
For information, visit https://betweenthelinestheatre.com/