Film star Laura Linney has returned to Broadway in the Manhattan Theater Club's production of "Time Stands Still." NY1's Roma Torre filed the following review.

Donald Margulies won a Pulitzer Prize for his play "Dinner With Friends" 10 years ago. Lightning isn't likely to strike twice with his latest, "Time Stands Still," another four character relationship drama. But it's still an impressive work that serves as a dynamite showcase for some stellar acting.

Sarah and James are hardened journalists who travel the world's hotspots in search of a good story. In her latest assignment, Sarah, a photographer, almost died after a bomb blast left her critically injured and her translator dead. James, her longtime boyfriend, is a writer who's losing his taste for living on the edge. The play begins as James brings Sarah home to convalesce in their Brooklyn apartment.

Sarah's photo editor, Richard, is a close friend of the couple who pays a visit with his new girlfriend, the much younger and very chipper Mandy. It's an awkward meeting between alien souls. Sarah, in particular, can barely disguise her condescension.

With its ripped-from-the-headlines storyline, the play is certainly timely. And Marguilies hashes out a number of relevant debates concerning the role of journalists in life-and-death situations; their limitations; their responsibilities and the emotional toll in a career spent bearing witness to so much horror.

It's a taut two hours expertly directed by Daniel Sullivan with Laura Linney delivering one of her finest portraits as the seen-it-all Sarah. Margulies is a master at probing the nuances of relationships and he is beautifully served by the entire company. Eric Bogosian is excellent. Brian D'Arcy James last seen as Shrek, is astonishingly versatile and Alicia Silverstone turns in a remarkably natural performance that in lesser hands could easily be a stereotype.

For all its virtues, the play doesn't wholly succeed. It's a situation drama with a narrow premise that tends to contrive its conflicts and the characters don't always seem true to nature. But given the Manhattan Theatre Club's impeccable production, audiences will find a visit to "Time Stands Still" is time well spent.