Ericka Leobrera and Anthony Perpuse in the Victory Theatre production of The Waltz.DAHLIA KATZ/Supplied
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- Title: The Waltz
- Written by: Marie Beath Badian
- Director: Nina Lee Aquino
- Actors: Ericka Leobrera, Anthony Perpuse
- Company: Factory Theatre
- Venue: 125 Bathurst Street
- City: Toronto
- Year: Sept. 6-17, 2023
The Waltz, Marie Beath Badian’s beloved romantic comedy, tells the very Canadian story of what happens when newcomers begin laying down roots.
Directed by Nina Lee Aquino, it returns to Factory Theatre to kick off this season before heading to Prairie Theatre Exchange in Winnipeg, followed by the Great Canadian Theatre Company in Ottawa.
It’s the second play in a trilogy (Badian’s final instalment is in development) that began with Prairie Nurse and spans 50 years and at least three generations. The Waltz picks up in 1993 with Bea Klassen (Ericka Leobrera) and RJ (Anthony Perpuse), first-generation Canadians and the children of women who traveled from the Philippines to Saskatchewan in the late sixties to work as nurses. (Their storylines were the plot of Prairie Nurse.)
RJ, 18 and traveling from Toronto to Vancouver for his first year of university, is guilted by his mother into visiting her old friends as he drives across the prairies. Through a network of her connections, he finds himself at the cabin of a distantly acquainted doctor, where he runs into crossbow-wielding Bea, an angst-ridden teen not yet sure of her place in the world.
Clad in Doc Martens and a Nirvana T-shirt, 16-year-old Bea charms the more clean-cut RJ with her standoffishness and acerbic wit. In spite of their disparate upbringings, they connect over cultural touchstones that bridge the divide and, under the enormous prairie sky, the two fall in love.
Badian has a gentle touch when confronting the complex feelings of being an outcast, and responding to the possibility of suddenly being seen. It isn’t always a glorious relief – Bea, whose father is white, is worried about not being Filipino enough for RJ, and that worry initially manifests as combativeness. Bea also takes some comfort in alcohol, a topic Badian approaches sensitively and without moralizing.
The show’s dialogue is clever, with an easy, natural flow, and Leobrera and Perpuse share a strong chemistry as they connect over nineties hits from Metallica, Lenny Kravitz, Neil Young and Boyz II Men, to name a few.
The set is simple but not sparse. Jackie Chau’s design, with a few beams and steps leading up to a platform, is evocative of the porch of a large cabin in the woods, as timeless as the experience of falling in love. While the two grow closer and their worlds dissolve, Michelle Ramsay’s lighting design mirrors their dynamic.
The Waltz is a beautifully crafted romance that reflects the country’s fascinating tapestry of cultures, intermingling and ever-evolving through the generations.
In the interest of consistency across all critics’ reviews, The Globe has eliminated its star-rating system in film and theatre to align with coverage of music, books, visual arts and dance. Instead, works of excellence will be noted with a critic’s pick designation across all coverage. (Television reviews, typically based on an incomplete season, are exempt.)