Evie’s Waltz
Geva Theatre Center, 2009
Marcia Morphy – Democrat and Chronicle
The Nextstage production of Evie’s Waltz is no shot in the
dark. Instead it takes perfect aim at Danny, a 16-year-old teenager who buys a gun on the Internet to
settle a bullying dispute. He is suspended from school for "carrying," along with his
girlfriend Evie, leaving their parents racked with guilt.
The play begins as a casual barbecue in the backyard suburban home of Clay
(Skip Greer) and Gloria (Annie Fitzpatrick), who are discussing the aftermath while waiting for
Evie’s mom, Sandy, to arrive for a tête à tête. Clay is both Mr. Nice Guy and Mr. Fix It, who
believes in his son and thinks coordinated parental action is key; Gloria is uncompromising and furious
at this complete "stranger" who is living upstairs.
As the grill sizzles, so does the action. Evie (Magan Wiles) bursts in on the
scene, announces her mother is drunk, and soon we realize she is the one who is truly calling all the
shots as she communicates through text messages with the unseen Danny, who is armed and now hiding out
in the nearby woods.
Bit by bit Evie downloads insight into the real Danny — how he was teased at
school, his anger at her smoking habit, their love for each other and enjoyment of waltzing to the music
of Johann Strauss.
All hands hit the deck when gunshots ring out like staccato punctuation
marks. Is this target practice or a Tristan and Isolde remake where two lovers are destined to
die?
The answers lie within playwright Carter W. Lewis, who weaves patterns from
strands of chaos and rivets the audience to their seats for 80 minutes of gripping suspense. But
it’s the actors who truly give Evie’s Waltz credence under the sensitive direction
of Tim Ocel.
Although Greer is positioned in an understated role that could have easily
been erased from the plot, his completely natural body language and genuine concern as the mediator is
palpable and endearing.
Meanwhile, an underlying anger drives Fitzpatrick to drink and act as one
tough, embittered mom. She’s fascinating to watch as she tumbles down the emotional rabbit hole of
denial to acceptance to love. Her shining moment takes place during a heartfelt voice message to her
son.
But it’s Wiles as the surly Evie who blew me away from the get-go — a
tension builder in one small package. She is the little girl lost, the teenager from hell and
every parent’s nightmare. Wiles made me squirm in my seat; she is that good.
As for the play, it’s a character dance like no other: Not a waltz, but
more like the last tango between life and death. It leaves us with no real answers — perhaps because
there are none — but it does hit home.
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Magan Wiles
Evie’s Waltz
Lewis
Geva Theatre Center
2009
Photo: Ken Huth
