Southland native leads cast of Steppenwolf’s ‘Time Stands Still’
By Betty Mohr bettybmohr@aol.com January 25, 2012 3:32PM
Sally Murphy, who grew up in Frankfort, stars in Steppenwolf Theatre Company's production of "Time Stands Still." | Sandro photo
‘Time Stands Still’
♦ Jan. 28-May 13
♦ Steppenwolf Theatre
Company, 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago
♦ Tickets, $20-$78
♦ (312) 335-1650;
steppenwolf.org
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Updated: May 9, 2012 10:12AM
When she first began singing and acting at Illinois Theatre Center in Park Forest, Sally Murphy never expected that one day she would reach towering heights.
She has performed at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, on Broadway, on the London stage and in television and in films.
Theatergoers may have seen the Frankfort native in the world premiere of “August: Osage County,” which debuted at Steppenwolf a few seasons ago.
The show rocketed to Broadway, where it garnered a handful of Tony Awards, and then catapulted to play London and Australia.
Murphy also made a splash in television’s “The Good Wife” and “Law and Order: Criminal Intent” and in films including “Pollock” and “Scent of a Woman.”
In 2011, she starred in the big hit “Sex with Strangers” at Steppenwolf, and now she will star in the theater’s production of “Time Stands Still” opening Jan. 28.
“I play a character who comes to a crossroad in her life and has to make a difficult choice,” Murphy said.
“I portray Sarah, a photojournalist who covers the Middle East, is struck by a roadside bomb and is terribly injured. She has to deal with whether to go back to the war-ravaged region or not.
“Her boyfriend doesn’t want her to go back. But being a photojournalist is her vocation, her reason to get up in the morning, and she feels she is making a difference.
“She is really torn, and because of that I connect with her in a personal way. I know what it is to love what you do and to know that you have to do it.
“I know what it is to be immersed in your vocation. That’s how I feel about acting. I would feel the same way as does Sarah if someone asked me to stop acting. I don’t know if I would be able to do it.”
Murphy said there are many levels to “Time Stands Still,” which makes it possible for her to identify with another of her character’s problems.
In the play, Sarah’s boyfriend wants to settle down and have children, but she doesn’t want to. Murphy said she understands Sarah’s concern.
“I certainly have questioned my not being married and not having children,” Murphy said.
“Acting is so central to my life that I don’t know if I could continue to act and also have a family.”
Murphy said that her parents always took her to shows in downtown Chicago, and that developed her interest in theater.
Her mother, who sings and plays the piano, had the biggest influence on her, Murphy added.
“When I was a little kid, my mother would give me a bath, and we would sing musical scales together,” she said.
“My earliest memory is of my mother playing a tune on the piano and I would pick up the melody that I’d never heard before and sing it. My mother told me I had a musical gene.”
Murphy was in vocal and choir concerts at Frankfort Junior High School, and she participated in student productions at Lincoln-Way Central High School in New Lenox.
“During the summers, while I was still in high school, I performed in shows such as ‘Babes in Arms’ and ‘Pirates of Penzance’ in Summerfest at Illinois Theatre Center,” she said.
“Etel Billig, the artistic director at ITC, was another great influence on me.”
Murphy said her career has blossomed in a surprising way. She started out as a musical performer but developed into a dramatic actress through the years.
While she sang her way on Broadway with musicals such as “Carousel” and “Fiddler on the Roof,” Murphy has become best known for her intense and gripping portrayals in plays such as “The Grapes of Wrath” and “August: Osage County.”
As an ensemble member with Steppenwolf, Murphy has been in many of the theater’s productions, but she said acting on the Steppenwolf stage never gets old.
She said she can’t wait until “Time Stands Still” opens especially since it’s being directed by Austin Pendleton, one of her favorite directors.
Every time she opens in a new production in that theater, she remembers her father taking her to her first Steppenwolf play, “Waiting for Lefty” by Clifford Odets.
“It was always so exciting,” Murphy said. “The excitement has never worn off.”
Betty Mohr is a local free-lance writer.
MURPHY’S STEPPENWOLF ROLES
Sally Murphy, who is starring in “Time Stands Still” through May 13 and also will be a part of the cast of “Three Sisters” from June 28-Aug. 26, has appeared in 12 other Steppenwolf Theatre Company productions.
2011
“Sex with Strangers”
2007
“The Crucible”
“August: Osage County”
2002
“The Royal Family”
2001
“Mother Courage and Her Children”
“Uncle Vanya”
1997
“Skylight”
1993
“Evelyn and the Polka King”
1991
“Earthly Possessions”
1990
“Harvey”
1988
“The Grapes Of Wrath”
“The Common Pursuit”
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