Buffalo Theatre Ensemble to Open 2018 with Donald Margulies' TIME STANDS STILL

Buffalo Theatre Ensemble (BTE), the professional Equity company in residence at the McAninch Arts Center continues its 2017-2018 season with "Time Stands Still," by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Donald Margulies. BTE Artistic Director Connie Canaday Howard* directs this compelling Tony Award-nominated drama.

Performances run Feb. 1-March 4. There will be a preview performance on Friday, Feb. 1. Press opening is Friday, Feb. 8 at 8 p.m.

Sarah, a photo journalist, is recovering in the Brooklyn apartment she shares with her foreign correspondent boyfriend James after being injured by a roadside bomb while covering the Iraq war. When they receive a visit from their photo editor friend Richard and his young new girlfriend Mandy, it forces Sarah and James to re-examine their relationship, and address the ethics of journalism in a world torn by conflict and suffering.

Says director Canaday Howard, "War and tragedy are a backdrop to this play about relationships, which asks how we decide how much we can flex and sacrifice for the one(s) we love, and when are we faced with not being able to flex further, because, in doing so, we're betraying ourselves? Another central issue in the play is, in today's world where disasters get the most attention and mean rhetoric gets the highest hits in social media, what do we have to ask ourselves as media providers and consumers? How do we determine what is documenting events, and what is serving humanity as a witness to the truth?"

"Time Stands Still" premiered in February 2009 at The Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles and premiered on Broadway in January, 2010 with Laura Linney starring as Sarah, Brian d'Arcy James as James, Eric Bogosian as Richard and Alicia Silverstone as Mandy. The run closed in March, but it reopened again on Broadway six months later, this time with Christina Ricci in the role of Mandy.

Donald Margulies grew up a housing project built by Donald Trump's father. His father, despite a limited income, often took his children to Manhattan to attend Broadway plays and musicals. Margulies studied visual arts at the Pratt Institute before transferring to State University of New York to pursue a degree in playwriting. During the early 80s, he collaborated with Joseph Papp, and his first Off-Broadway play, "Found a Peanut," was produced at The Public Theatre. In 1992, Margulies' "Sight Unseen" won an Obie for Best New American Play. And in 1993, he was elected to the Dramatists Guild Council. A prolific playwright, Margulies' "Dinner With Friends" won him a 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. He had previously been nominated for a Pulitzer for "Collected Stories," a play about a Jewish writer who is betrayed by her young disciple, Margulies has received grants from Creative Artists Public Service (CAPS), New York Foundation for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation.

The cast for BTE's production of "Time Stands Still" features Lisle's Lisa Dawn (Sarah), Chicago's Brad Lawrence (James), Lombard's Kurt Naebig* (Richard) and Chicago's Amanda Raudabaugh (Mandy). The production team includes Downers Grove's Connie Canaday Howard (Director) Aurora's Michael W. Moon* (Scenic Designer) and Chicago's Rachel Lambert (Costume Designer); Claire Chrzan (Lighting Designer), Christopher Kriz* (Sound Designer) and Vivian Knouse (Properties Designer). Stage manager is Chicago's David A Loranca.

Buffalo Theatre Ensemble presents "Time Stands Still," by Donald Margulies, directed by Connie Canaday Howard in the Playhouse Theatre of the McAninch Arts Center, located at 425 Fawell Blvd. on the campus of College of DuPage Feb. 1-March 4. There will be a preview performance on Thursday, Feb. 1; press opening is Friday, Feb. 2. Performances are Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets are $37. For tickets or more information visit AtTheMAC.org or call 630.942.4000.

BTE wraps up the season with "Outside Mullingar" by John Patrick Shanley, directed by Steve Scott (May 3-June 3; Press opening May 4). For more information call 630.942.4000 or visit AtTheMAC.org. Please note: All BTE 2017-2018 Season performances contain adult themes and language.

Buffalo Theatre Ensemble members include: Aly Amidei, Robert Jordan Bailey, BTE Associate Artistic Director Amelia Barrett, Bryan Burke, BTE Artistic Director Connie Canaday Howard, Jon Gantt, Christopher Kriz, Loretta Hauser, Michael W. Moon, Kurt Naebig, Galen G. Ramsey, William "Sandy" Smillie, and Kelli Walker.

The mission of Buffalo Theatre Ensemble is to provide a forum in which artists, scholars, writers, students and community members explore new ideas and provocative issues through the production of high quality theater for the enjoyment of its audiences. Since 1986 BTE has staged more than 114 productions. For more information about BTE visit btechicago.com .

BTE thanks the DuPage Foundation for their generous support in the reinstatement and continued operation of Buffalo Theatre Ensemble in its 2017-2018. BTE also thanks the Norm Woodel Inspiration Fund for its assistance in the rebirth and further development of Buffalo Theatre Ensemble.

The McAninch Arts Center (MAC) at College of DuPage is located 25 miles west of Chicago near I-88 and I-355, and houses three indoor performance spaces (the 780-seat proscenium Belushi Performance Hall; the 236-seat soft-thrust Playhouse Theatre; and the versatile black box Studio Theatre), the outdoor Lakeside Pavilion, plus the Cleve Carney Art Gallery and classrooms for the college's academic programming. The MAC has presented theater, music, dance and visual art to more than 1.5 million people since its opening in 1986 and typically welcomes more than 75,000 patrons from the greater Chicago area to more than 230 performances each season.

* Denotes BTE Ensemble Member

Pictured: Brad Lawrence and Lisa Dawn. Photo by Rex Howard Photography.

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