Proof: The Complex Formulas of Sibling Relationships, Death and Love
by Stephanie Morgan, Columbus Wired Columnist (4/8/03)

“Proof” opens on the back porch of an old home in Chicago. It starts out simply with a father concerned about his daughter being up too late. However, it is apparent that this is simply an excuse for the two of them to celebrate her birthday since it’s after midnight.

But as Catherine drinks the bad champagne her father has given her, their conversation turns more serious. First it is about Catherine’s apparent depression, and then it is about her father’s mental illness and then it is about whether Catherine herself might be going crazy herself.

This is when we discover that Catherine’s father, Robert, has been dead and will be buried the next day.

Written by David Auburn, “Proof” has won numerous awards (including the Pulitzer) because it manages to bridge two complex themes through math. Auburn admits to wanting to deal both with a fight between two sisters over parental legacy and with a character afraid of inheriting a parent’s mental illness. It was while researching “Proof” that Auburn discovered that many mathematicians suffer from mental illness. From there, he was able to bridge the two ideas.

Catherine is the genius sister who was destined to follow in her father’s footsteps until caring for her father became a full-time profession. Claire is the responsible sister, long-since moved to New York to pursue a successful career and send money back to support her father and sister. Rounding out the cast is Hal, a former student that worshipped their father for many accomplishments to the field of math.

Some audience members will be vividly reminded of the John Nash character in “A Beautiful Mind’ while viewing the play. This further emphasizes the insanity that can only come from viewing the world through mathematics. Everything in the world is governed by mathematics – even the behavior sciences have found mathematical models with which to predict emotional responses. For all of the protesting that we would never, ever use math while studying algebra, we cannot help but realize that our lives are governed by numbers and math – even if it is simply the binary code that tells a computer that 0110111101101110 means “on.” For those of us outside of the field, we are as conscious of this math as we are aware that we are surrounded by air. Imagine, however, the world where one looks for patterns in the numbers, where one finds complex relationships that explain how physics are governed, that tries to find an end to pi…and wonder if you would not be somewhat crazy.

This play is like “A Beautiful Mind” insomuch as it is a story so common that the thin line between genius and insanity is a commonly accepted thing. The two stories could not be more different.

Proof is a meaty, emotionally intense play that covers the broad spectrum of relationships that exist amongst even the smallest group of people. It is not merely a father/daughter relationship between Catherine and Robert – it is also about a father passing the baton of genius, it is also about a daughter serving as a caregiver, it is a relationship of equal minds. Hal is a former student of Robert’s and also views Catherine as a romantic interest where Catherine views him first as a potential thief, as a suspect friend, as a lover, as a confident, as an enemy and as a savior. Hal hopes to prove his one-time teacher, mentor and idol was still a viable contributor to the field of math in hopes of proving his own advanced age (28) does not mean that his best work is behind him.

At the core of this play, however, is the relationship between Claire and Catherine. The two sisters that cannot find a conversation that will not end in an argument. While Catherine has stayed behind to care for her father, Claire has paid the bills and lived over a thousand miles away. They are sisters, but it is also apparent that Claire views herself as a mother and caretaker responsible for all of life’s important decisions. Catherine knows her sister means well, but understands that much of their acrimony comes from the fact that she is the true genius while Claire has had to settle simply for being intelligent. The two do have their moments of adult friendship, but Claire’s steadfast need to serve as protector over her sister (to save her from the same fate as their father), quickly pulls them back to argumentative sisters.

The ability for what seem like relatively simply relationships to grow exponentially into complex emotional juggernauts is the genius of this play. These are complete people dealing with the very real struggles of reality, fear and hope.

Crystal Wolford does an incredible job as Catherine, displaying an emotional range that few stage actors can effectively pull off. It is a performance that is both subtle and screaming in the depths of Catherine’s fear, depression and regret. While the men are important characters, it is only Robin Amy Gordon’s portrayal of Claire that holds its own with Wolford on stage. To come out and portray an equally commanding character is no small feat. This is a story of two sisters and it is right that they remain in the forefront of the story. It is the precision acting balance that brings this story to life and keeps it compelling and emotionally charged without sacrifice. This balance must be credited in no small part to director Ed Vaughan.

This is not to say that Mark Mann and Wolf J. Sherrill do not hold their own. Rather, they’re important keys to the story that should center on the sisters and their separate needs to fill rolls. Each of the women has rolls related to their father and even to Hal, but they are still their own person. To overplay either of the male parts would have broken a delicate emotional balance necessary to the story.

Above all else this is a story about the basic fear and desire all children have – first we fear that we will be exactly like our parents and then we fear that we’ll never be good enough to follow in their footsteps. If it takes math to show us that there is a way to bridge this fear and forge our own way founded on those gifts and foibles that we inherit, all the better.

“Proof” plays at CATCO March 30-April 27, 2003. Call 614-461-0010 for reservations.