STAGE TUBE: Bryan Schlanger from Actors Bridge Ensemble's Upcoming TIME STANDS STILL

Kim Bretton directs the Nashville premiere of Donald Margulies' Time Stands Still, presented by Actors Bridge Ensemble at Belmont University's Black Box Theatre, May 11-20.

Bretton's cast includes Actors Bridge cofounders Vali Forrister and Bill Feehely, together onstage again for the first time in several years. They are joined in the four-character piece by Jillian Gottlieb and Bryan Schlanger.

Set in Brooklyn, Time Stands Still centers around Sarah (played by Forrister), a photo journalist who has returned from covering the war in Iraq after being injured in a roadside bomb, and her reporter boyfriend James who is swamped by guilt after leaving Sarah alone in Iraq. They receive a visit from Richard, a photo editor, who introduces them to his new girlfriend Mandy, who is much younger than he. The play focuses on their relationships and Sarah and James' prospects for a more conventional life.

Performances are Friday through Sunday, May 11-13, and Thursday through Sunday, May 17-20. Thursday through Saturday performances have a 7:30 p.m. curtain, with Sunday afternoon shows at 4 p.m.

Tickets are $18 (general admission) and $15 (seniors and students). To purchase tickets in advance, got tohttp://actorsbridge.eventbrite.com/.

Jeffrey Ellis is a Nashville-based writer, editor and critic, who's been covering the performing arts in Tennessee for more than 25 years. He is the recipient of the Tennessee Theatre Association's Distinguished Service Award for his coverage of theatre in the Volunteer State and was the founding editor/publisher of Stages, the Tennessee Onstage Monthly. He is a past fellow of the National Critics Institute at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center and is the founder/executive producer of The First Night Honors, held during Labor Day Weekend, which honor oustanding theater artists in Tennessee in recognition of their lifetime achievements and includes The First Night Star Awards and the Most Promising Actors. Midwinter's First Night, held the first Sunday in January after New Year's Day, honors outstanding productions and performances throughout the state. Further, Ellis directed the Nashville premiere of La Cage Aux Folles, The Last Night of Ballyhoo and An American Daughter, as well as award-winning productions of Damn Yankees, Company, Gypsy and The Rocky Horror Show, with Ellis honored by The Tennessean as best director of a musical for both Company and Rocky Horror.

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