For David Bridgewater, the biggest deciding factor to participate in any show comes down to the script.
“Well-written, compelling scripts are hard to come by. A Doll’s House, Part 2 is absolutely one of them,” says Bridgewater who is starring as Torvald in Virginia Rep’s production of the play. ”It’s just a great story, with great dialogue, and great characters.”
His role in the show marks the first time in five years that he has set foot on stage.
“There’s a laundry list of reasons why,” says Bridgewater who has been acting since 1984 and now works as a personal and home management instructor at the Virginia Rehabilitation Center for the Blind and Vision Impaired. “So if I’m going to commit to a production, it has to be one that I’m really interested in. It has to be something that challenges, inspires, and even scares me.”
When he first read A Doll’s House, Part 2, he couldn’t believe how much his life was reflected in the play.
“I nearly fell out of my chair. In 2006, my marriage fell apart. It was unquestionably the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through in my life,” he said. “I’ve literally gone through all of the things that Torvald goes through in the play. He’s clearly ridden the emotional rollercoaster that happens with that kind loss – fear, rage, confusion, feelings of betrayal and abandonment, self loathing – but he’s doing what he can to stay alive and support his family.”
Fifteen years after Torvald’s wife Nora leaves him, he is still trying to pick up the broken pieces of his life as best as he can.
“He’s honestly trying to be a better person than he was before Nora left. The line in the show that gets me every single time is when Torvald says to Nora, “…hopefully I won’t be remembered the way you remember me when I’m gone,” Bridgewater says.
He has known Katrinah Carol Lewis, who plays Nora, in the show for a long time, but has never acted with her before.
“I knew she’d be a powerful partner on stage. So that also drew me in. I’m very lucky to be involved with this production,” he says.
A Doll’s House Part 2 is a sequel to Henrik Ibsen’s famous A Doll’s House, a revolutionary 1879 portrait of marriage as a woman’s prison. It ended with Nora Helmer walking out on her husband and their three young children and slamming the door behind her.
Set in 1894, the sequel production explores Nora’s return home after fifteen years away.
Bridgewater’s role is a departure for him.
“I’ve played a long list of powerful, brave, bombastic characters in recent years. Torvald is none of those. He’s broken, lost, and desperately trying to just…hang on,” he says. “As an actor, my goal in this role is just to give a clean, believable performance that is rooted in genuine emotion. That’s it. That’s my job.”
Virginia Repertory Theatre gave Bridgewater his very first paying job as an actor in 1984 for a production of a play called The Diviners.
“I owe so much to Bruce Miller and Phil Whiteway. They have been so tremendously kind to me. I’ve done dozens of shows with them over the years. They have been supporting me, on and off stage, for my entire professional career,” he says. “They have been generous, consistent employers for me, but beyond that, they have been amazing friends. Their fidelity to me has never wavered and they’ve been there for me in some very hard times. Being back at Virginia Rep is like putting on your favorite old shirt. It just fits. It’s good to be home.”
A Doll’s House, Part 2 runs through February 27 at Virginia Rep’s November Theatre. For showtimes and tickets, go here.
Read the RFM review of A Doll’s House, Part 2 here.
