‘Time Stands Still’ @ Teatro Dallas
Photos by @apollonlab.s
—Teresa Marrero
What’s to love about this production? An award-winning script from playwright Donald Margulies, inspired direction by Mac Welch, and subtle, heartfelt performances by Gisela Guajardo (Sarah), Caleb Mosley (James), Taylor Harris (Richard), and Breana Deanda (Mandy).
In other words, absolutely everything.
For real.
The old adage that a bad script can be rescued by great acting does not apply here, because Margulies gives us such authentic and at times funny characters that all one can say is: everything works.
This is an intimate look at the lives of a couple, one a photojournalist, Sarah, and one a print journalist, James, her emotional and work partner of eight years. I do not know if the script calls for multi-racial casting, but the decision to do so worked. It is a pleasant theatrical moment when one can see a Black man and a white Latina in a romantic relationship, and the focus is not on race or cultural identity.
Sarah has just returned from covering the war in Iraq. Her face is scarred by shrapnel, and her leg is injured by an explosion that killed Tariq, her ´fixer, ´ a term used to describe a local person who functions as a guide, an interpreter, etc. James had returned earlier to recover from another war-related trauma.
This parlor drama takes us into the intimate lives of people undergoing post-traumatic disorders both physically and psychologically. And yet, the story isn’t heavy with overdramatization. Actually, it feels deceptively understated.
Personally, I was captivated by Gisela Guajardo´s subtle performance as Sarah. She and Caleb Mosley have a chemistry that can be challenging to create in performances that require intimacy. In the Latino Cultural Center´s black box theater, we are up close to the stage, where every nuance can be detected. And there were no false or superfluous gestures.
Their constant eye constant, their subtle touches, her gestures, his responses…. There was something palpable there that made us feel this was a very real relationship. I almost forgot they were acting. It felt more like I was witnessing a very private moment in these people´s (and not the characters´) lives.
Margulies´ writing moves his characters in such an organic progression that, while we cannot guess where exactly all of this is heading, the eventual situation unfolds in an emotionally honest manner. Welch´s direction allows for the actors to find themselves in the script. It feels as if he gives them leeway to generate an internal awareness of their characters. And this makes them authentic.
The other couple, Richard (Taylor Harris) who is Sarah´s and James´ editor, and his new girlfriend Mandy (Breana Deanda), adds lightness and humor laced with believable personality dynamics. Richard is three years younger than Mandy´s father, but as she says—so what? He makes her feel safe. She is an event planner, and her territory is nowhere near the intellectual playing field that occupies the lives of Richard, James, and Sarah. But Mandy holds her own, and brings us the flip side of the coin of a life well-lived.
Without giving away any plot secrets, the relationship between Sarah and James unfolds as they experience a fundamental change in values. The piece comes to a logical conclusion whereby each character remains true to him and herself.
I strongly urge Dallas lovers of a good story and fantastic acting to see Time Stands Still. While the Iraqi war is the historical context of the action, this play is about people, and the aftermath of what happens to them after they come through extreme circumstances. The Teatro Dallas audience rewarded the performance with a heartfelt standing ovation. One feels satisfied, as in after eating a solid and nourishing meal.
Teresa Marrero is Professor of Latiné and Latin American Theater at the University of North Texas, Department of Spanish. See another of her publications here: https://www.americantheatre.org/2024/11/06/dallass-latinidades-was-more-than-a-festival/.
WHEN: November 8-23, 2024 (A must-see!)
WHERE: Latino Cultural Center, 2600 Live Oak Street, Dallas
WEB: teatrodallas.org
