(Minneapolis/St. Paul) The Guthrie Theater today announced complete casting for Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Donald Margulies celebrated drama Time Stands Still. Artistic Director Joe Dowling will direct the 2010 Tony Award-nominated, deeply human and witty play about the lives of two couples coping with changes in life and the aftermath of trauma. The production will play from April 7 May 20, 2012 on the McGuire Proscenium Stage.

Dowling has assembled an exceptional ensemble to take on the roles of two couples at a critical juncture in their lives. Twin Cities actress Sarah Agnew (The 39 Steps, Dollhouse, Major Barbara) leads the cast as photojournalist Sarah Goodwin, who wrestles with the consequences of a career spent documenting carnage. Guthrie favorite Bill McCallum (God of Carnage, Much Ado About Nothing, Circle Mirror Transformation) stars as Sarahs partner James Dodd, a war journalist whose desire for a more conventional life puts a strain on the couples relationship.

The production will also feature the talents of Mark Benninghofen (The Intelligent Homosexuals Guide) and Valeri Mudek (Charleys Aunt, Tiny Kushner) as Sarahs editor and mentor Richard Ehrlich and his much younger girlfriend Mandy Bloom, respectively.

James is a journalist who left Iraq before photographer Sarah was injured by a roadside bomb. As Sarah deals with her injuries and her lingering feelings of loss for the translator killed by the bomb, James is swamped by guilt for having left her alone. Something is amiss in their relationship, but their differences are lessened when theyre in the company of Richard, a magazine photo editor and supporter of their work, and his much younger girlfriend Mandy, a bubbly event planner who looks on the bright side of life.

What I tried to do with this play is capture a sense of the way we live now, says Margulies. To dramatize the things that thinking, feeling, moral people are thinking about and struggle with the issues of how to be a citizen of the world, how to show compassion, how to be involved, how to be true to yourself and your immediate loved ones.

The artistic team includes Walt Spangler (Set Designer), Christine A. Richardson (Costume Designer), Tom Mays (Lighting Designer), Scott W. Edwards (Sound Designer), Jo Holcomb (Dramaturg), Marcela Lorca (Movement), Martha Kulig (Stage Manager), Meaghan Rosenberger (Assistant Stage Manager) and Jon Ferguson (Assistant Director).

Time Stands Still begins preview performances on April 7, opens April 13 and continues through May 20, 2012, on the McGuire Proscenium Stage at the Guthrie Theater. Single tickets start at $24 and are now on sale through the Guthrie Box Office at 612.377.2224, toll-free 877.44.STAGE, 612.225.6244 (Group Sales) and online at www.guthrietheater.org.

Donald Margulies body of work is a testament to an intelligent writer who doesnt shy away from a challenge. Margulies is willing to engage difficult topics or bend a genre to his own purposes. Whether writing a comic fantasy of sorts about a Jewish family in New York whose youngest son writes a musical version of Death of a Salesman (The Loman Family Picnic) or exploring the search by a celebrated artist trying to recapture the purity of his original inspiration (Sight Unseen), Margulies work is characterized by fully rounded, nuanced characters in emotionally compelling and intellectually stimulating situations. Margulies has been lauded as one of Americas leading playwrights and received the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Dinner with Friends, which was made into an Emmy Award-nominated film for HBO. Because his work ranges from Neil Simon-esque comedy to literary comedy-drama, Margulies is not easy to categorize. Among his many plays are Collected Stories, Brooklyn Boy, Shipwrecked! An Entertainment The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (As Told by Himself) and The Model Apartment. Time Stands Still premiered in 2010 and has been produced in New York and Los Angeles, receiving numerous award nominations as well as critical praise. Time Stands Still is the first play by Margulies to be staged at the Guthrie Theater.

The GUTHRIE THEATER (Joe Dowling, Director) was founded by Sir Tyrone Guthrie in 1963 and is an American center for theater performance, production, education and professional training. The Tony Award-winning Guthrie Theater is dedicated to producing the great works of dramatic literature, developing the work of contemporary playwrights and cultivating the next generation of theater artists. With annual attendance of nearly 500,000 people, the Guthrie Theater presents a mix of classic plays and contemporary work on its three stages. Under the artistic leadership of Joe Dowling since 1995, the Guthrie continues to set a national standard for excellence in theatrical production and performance. In 2006, the Guthrie opened its new home on the banks of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel, the Guthrie Theater houses three state-of-the-art stages, production facilities, classrooms and dramatic public lobbies. www.guthrietheater.org

For more information contact:

Seena Hodges 612.225.6142

seenah@guthrietheater.org

Quinton Skinner 612.225.6140

quintons@guthrietheater.or

# # #