Chance Theater to Present TIME STANDS STILL, 9/27-10/27

Chance Theater presents the fourth show of its 15th Anniversary Season - the Tony nominated drama Time Stands Still by renowned playwright Donald Margulies, and directed by Marya Mazor. Time Stands Still begins previews on September 27, opens October 4 and continues through October 27 at Chance Theater.

This witty, insightful drama from Pulitzer Prize winner Donald Margulies follows James and Sarah, a journalist and a photographer, who have been together for nine years and share a passion for documenting the realities of war. But when injuries force them to return home to New York, the adventurous couple confronts their most daunting situation yet - the prospect of leading a more conventional life. A love story that also poses tough questions about responsibility - to our lovers, to our friends, to our work, to our fellow man, and to ourselves. A brilliant Broadway hit from the author of Brooklyn Boy and Dinner with Friends.

"Time Stands Still deals with the intersection of personal and political values -- what keeps people together, on a personal level, and what splits them apart," says director Marya Mazor. "Sarah and Jamie, the couple at the center of the story, met at a time when they shared values and interests -- as a photojournalist and a writer in a war zone. That connection was enough to hold them together for more than eight years, but the question of the play is -- is it enough to keep them together for a lifetime? Should it be? Sarah still clings to ideals that may seem naive to others in the play, but is her uncompromising vision something we should aspire to, or abhor? Is she an adrenaline addict or a hero? Mandy, the young girlfriend of Sarah and Jamie's publisher, poignantly expresses an alternate set of values --finding an equal calling in the simple acts of loving, family, and joyously celebrating the gift of life. In this way, a story of two people who may no longer 'want the same things' is also an exploration of core values."

Mazor continues, "I find this story particularly intriguing in light of the huge changes in marriage our culture has undergone in the last few decades; our impulse as a culture, and an audience, has been to want to see couples stay together -- but maybe that value is outdated? Is their equal joy to be found in celebrating separation, change and the willingness to grow?"

"Mr. 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. Throughout, his dialogue crackles with bright wit and intelligence. " - The New York Times

"Can you be a dispassionate, uninvolved observer of horrific events, recording them for posterity and still keep a sense of right and wrong, not to mention your sanity? It's one of several questions getting a workout in Time Stands Still ... Insightful writing, the work is smart, stylish, timely and layered with an intriguing seriousness that inspires discussion after the curtain comes down - a rarity these days." - Associated Press

Time Stands Still had its world premiere at Geffen Playhouse in February 2009. From there, the script got tighter, lost 15 minutes, and opened on Broadway the following January at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in a Manhattan Theatre Club production. The cast included Laura Linney, Alicia Silverstone, Brian d'Arcy James and Eric Bogosian. The production was nominated for two 2010 Tony Awards - Best Play and Best Actress (Laura Linney). Time Stands Still re-opened on Broadway at the Cort Theatre in October 2010, with three of the four Broadway cast member returning. The Broadway run ended on January 30, 2011.

Donald Margulies is a playwright and professor of English and Theater Studies at Yale University. In 2000, he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Dinner With Friends. Margulies' other notable works include Time Stands Still, Shipwrecked! An Entertainment - The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (As Told by Himself), Brooklyn Boy, Sight Unseen and Collected Stories, the last three of which were commissioned and originally produced by South Coast Repertory. Sight Unseen (which won a 1992 OBIE Award for Best American Play and the Dramatists' Guild/Hull-Warriner Award) and Collected Stories were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, in 1992 and 1997, respectively. In addition to the Pulitzer, Dinner with Friends also received an American Theatre Critics' Association New Play Citation, The Dramatists' Guild/Hull-Warriner Award, the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play, the Outer Critics Circle Award, a Drama Desk Award nomination, and was selected a Burns Mantle Best Play of 1999-2000). In 2005, Donald Margulies was honored by the American Academy of Arts and Letters with an Award in Literature and by the National Foundation for Jewish Culture with its Award in Literary Arts.

Marya Mazor previous directed Chance productions of Edward Albee's The Goat or, Who is Sylvia? (OC Weekly Best Play 2011), the world premiere of Overlooked, and the critically acclaimed twisted romantic comedy Nerve. Marya has directed productions and workshops at the Boston Court, the Open Fist, the Berkeley Repertory Theater and the Asian American Theater Company; the Long Wharf Theater; New York Stage and Film Company, Nada, Dixon Place, Circle X, and Williamstown Theatre Festival, among others. Marya founded Voice & Vision theater in New York City, and served as its Artistic Director for ten years. She recently directed Aladdin for Disney Cruise Lines. Marya is a recipient of the National Endowment of the Arts/Theatre Communications Group Directing Fellowship. She also participated in the AFI Directing Workshop for Women, where she directed The Winged Man, written by Jose Rivera ("Motorcycle Diaries"). The Winged Man aired nationwide on SiTV, and played festivals around the country and abroad. Marya has taught at The New School and Fordham University. She holds an M.F.A. in directing from the Yale School of Drama.

Time Stands Still features Scenic Design by Bradley Kaye, Lighting Design by Pablo Santiago, Sound Design by Ryan Brodkin, and Costume Design by Eunnym Cho.

The cast of Time Stands Still features resident artist Jennifer Ruckman, as well as Brandon Sean Pearson, Mike Martin and Elena Murray.

TICKETS: $25.00 - $35.00. Call (714) 777-3033 or visit www.ChanceTheater.com.

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