Proof
It’s not nearly often enough that you come across a solid production of a wonderful play, so it’s a pleasure to be able to suggest that anyone who enjoys theater should make the time to go see the current production of David Auburn’s Proof, directed by Elina de Santos, at the Odyssey Theatre in West L.A.
As you probably know, it’s an award-winning play (with meaty roles) that concerns the family of a gifted mathematician who suffers in his later life from intractable mental problems that engenders sacrificial caregiving efforts from his younger daughter. When the professor’s former student volunteers to scour the mathematician’s office for recent work of any value, he finds a ground-breaking proof (which we’re told is extremely important and valuable, at least to mathematicians). Resolving who owns it, who takes credit for it, and what its existence means for the daughters as well as the former student becomes the fulcrum upon which turn the future of these characters and the outcome of the play.
Abigail Rose Solomon, in the lead role of the gifted mathematician’s younger daughter, Catherine, holds the stage throughout most of the show, and offers a solid performance as a young girl and maturing woman who suffers more than the usual doubt and angst as she struggles to find her place in the world. Ariana Johns offers able support in her role as the older sister, Claire, while Micah Freedman gives us a suitably geeky and earnestly (yet winningly) open and honest Hal, the former student who has long had powerful feelings for both Catherine and her father.
But it is Greg Mullavey, as Robert, the flawed math genius, who offers the most illuminating and powerful performance in this production, as he tries hard to be a good father despite being in the ineluctable grip of both his genius and his madness.
This is an ambitious production, with a fairly elaborate set and quite a few costume changes. What really makes it worthwhile as an evening’s entertainment is the company’s deft handling of the author’s sparkling dialogue, which reveals a storm of emotions and a whirlwind of conflicting desires within each of the four characters. Auburn has crafted a sharp, tight exploration of the inner turmoil that families often experience as life throws them unexpected curves, and has added an element we don’t see very much: a glimpse into the competitive world of academia, and particularly the “hard-partying” mathematicians who populate it.
Ms. Solomon’s company, Rosalind Productions, aims to produce plays with vital, complex, and influential women characters, and it has certainly hit that target here.
Proof
The Odyssey Theatre
2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd.
West Los Angeles, CA 90025
May 3 Thru June 1, 2008
Thurs, Fri, Sat at 8:00pm, Sun at 2:00pm
Tickets: $25. Students & Groups of 10 or More: $20
Box Office: 310-477-2055
www.rosalindproductions.tix.com
www.rosalindproductions.com/nowplaying.htm
Info & Inquiries: 310-358-2789