Proof
BOTTOM LINE: A small-time production of a Pulitzer and Tony winning play that is well worth seeing despite some shortcomings.
As most readers might know, whether interested in theater or otherwise, the 2010 Pulitzer Prizes were recently awarded. And just as every time the Oscars air, with all the surprises and juicy controversies, it prompts those new to the scene or those who haven't had their finger on the pulse in the past year to see what all the fuss is about and decide to catch up on past winners. Unfortunately for us theatergoers it's not quite as easy as loading up the Netflix queue and pulling an all-nighter.
Instead we have to wait for the surprisingly rare opportunity when these modern masterpieces resurface. Here is your chance, for a very short time indeed, to catch the 2001 Pulitzer winner for best drama: Proof, written by David Auburn, and produced by Tongue in Cheek Theater at the Bridge Theatre in Shetler Studios. But be aware, the window of opportunity is short and if you are reading this after May 8th then you are already too late.
Proof is a brilliant, modern classic that received numerous prestigious award blessings in 2001, including the Tony Award for Best Drama, and even the Hollywood treatment years later with Anthony Hopkins, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jake Gyllenhaal in a film that is very much recommended to those that don't hold the sanctimony of live theater and original scripts in quite as high a regard as some.
Proof is a play about mathematics, and if you think that this is a dry subject to write a drama around, think again. The title refers to more than the 40 page deduction of primes at the center of the plot and delves deep into the essence of human nature and the thin balance between genius and insanity.
Catherine is a 25 year-old, unschooled mathematician whose life has crumbled around her after spending the best years of her life caring for her now deceased, once brilliant then delusional, mathematician father. As the pressure from her sister to move on with her life increases, and her father's rambling scribbles are dissected by an underachieving local math student, the sudden discovery of the most revolutionary proof in the last century leaves its authorship in doubt. One starts to wonder how much of her father's brilliance, and the accompanying mental instability, has been handed down to the next generation.
I am usually wary of productions where half the cast also happen to be the two producers and artistic directors of the company putting on the show, if that show isn't originally theirs. On the other hand, one has to admire the artistic initiative of those who produce what they feel is important, no matter the hurdles. But more often than not it turns out to be a better idea to keep the roles of administrative and artistic talent separate, for the benefit of both.
The problem with re-staging a classic, be it Shakespeare, Beckett, or something more recent such as this, is that you either need the directorial subtlety to recreate the original magic, or you give it a unique and fresh take to justify the effort, and this production struggles on both fronts. The drama hinges on the constant theme of misunderstanding and the characters, for all their discussions, act like ships passing in the night. One can't help but think that all of the tension could be alleviated with the addition of one simple line: "Ok, I understand."
The freshness comes from the actors who portray the human behind the character rather than recreating the characatures of the original production. Shout-outs go to Brian W. Seibert as Hal and Deirdre MacNamara as Claire for providing dynamic and living performances that breathe on stage. All in all, Tongue in Cheek Theater does a solid job at telling this great story.
Check out this production of one of the great plays of the last decade while you still can. Despite a few shortcomings, it was well worth the experience.
(Proof plays at the Bridge Theatre at Shetler Studios, 244 West 54th Street, 12th Floor, between 7th and 8th Avenues, through May 8, 2010. Performances are Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8pm. Tickets are $17 online ($20 at the door) and are available tictheater.com.)