Photo: Nicole Modeen Photography
In Time Stands Still, the timely drama that opened Thursday (June 1) at the Playhouse, photojournalist Sarah Goodwin (Cheryl Skafte) and writer James Dodd (John Pokrzywinski) have come home after Sarah is severely injured by a car bomb in Iraq.
Dealing with a near-death experience requires physical and psychological rehabilitation, but Sarah bears the burden of extra baggage because James feels immense guilt over having already gone home before she was injured.
That bomb blast has brought her future as a photojournalist into conflict with their romantic relationship in this compelling drama.
When their editor, Richard Ehrlich (Michael Kraklio), drops by to check on them he brings his new and much younger girlfriend, Mandy Bloom (KT Magnolia). Richard and Mandy’s relationship offers a look into a glass darkly for Sarah and James. They confront a fork in the road, but is it before them or already behind them?
From the moment she takes the stage with her crutches, Skafte makes it abundantly clear that Sarah is an exposed raw nerve. Time and time again, Skafte would set her face before launching into her lines, as if Sarah was composing her features for a photograph.
It soon becomes clear that James has a definite agenda for both their professional and personal lives, and Pokrzywinski’s best moments come when he unleashes torrents of words to overwhelm Sarah into submission.
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Get Tickets to the Show
What: Time Stands Still
When: June 8-11, 2017
Show Times: Thursday-Saturday @ 7:30pm | Sunday @ 2pm
Where: The Duluth Playhouse (506 W. Michigan Street)
Purchase: Online or by calling 218.733.7555 or stopping by in person during regular business hours (9am-5pm, M-F)
NOTE: This show contains mature language.