‘The Waterfall’ Review: A Mother’s Blessing and a Daughter’s Burden

Phanésia Pharel’s wistful two-hander, starring Patrice Johnson Chevannes and Natalie Paul, examines a Haitian American family and questions of legacy. Emiliene, or Emi, the fiery matriarch, has been hospitalized after collapsing from low blood sugar during Bible study.

When her lawyer daughter Bean arrives, Emi greets her from a wheelchair with impish theatricality — slumping, her tongue lolling as if she’s passed out, then snapping upright with, “You left me for dead, but I’m still here!” Compact as a gymnast, Chevannes fills the stage; her strong Haitian Creole accent and presence easily occupy Teresa L.

Williams’s set, which alternates between Emi’s Florida home and the waterfall that gives the play its name. Emi is driven to discover when she might expect a grandchild and, if necessary, to hurry it along. Bean, raised in America, has reservations: professionally she’s pursuing partnership, and she and her unseen fiancé are not aligned about starting a family.

United States, Florida

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