CURTAIN CALL: A booze-soaked shitshow fueled by illicit drug use

Each week, Michael Gold breezes past those big-name theater companies to turn a spotlight on Philly's indie stages.

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CURTAIN CALL: A booze-soaked shitshow fueled by illicit drug use

POSTED: Tuesday, February 14, 2012, 3:00 PM

Filed Under: Arts Theater

Each week, Michael Gold breezes past those big-name theater companies to turn a spotlight on Philly's indie stages.

Love is at the heart of Time Stands Still, a fresh-from-Broadway import that opens today at Act II Playhouse, but underneath this tale about a troubled relationship lurks trauma and intriguing ethical questions. Photojournalist Sarah (local actress Susan McKey in a role originated by Laura Linney) is returning home from Iraq after a roadside bomb leaves her with severe scars and a bad leg. She reunites with boyfriend James, a foreign correspondent riddled by guilt after a breakdown in Iraq caused him to return home shortly before Sarah’s accident.

Both Sarah and James make a living witnessing violence and catastrophe — what cultural critics often call “disaster porn” — but the thorny issues surrounding the exploitative nature of journalism are pushed aside. Instead, Donald Margulies’ play focuses on Sarah and James’ readjustment to ordinary life in the wake of sudden turbulence.

Through Mar. 11, $22-36, Act II Playhouse, 56 E. Butler Ave., Ambler, 215-654-0200, act2.org.

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