PROOF Comes to Hershey Area Playhouse, 4/25-5/5

Hershey Area Playhouse will present the Pulitzer Prize winning play Proof in April. Proof is the story of a mathematician whose genius and madness wreaks havoc on his daughters and a former student. When the former student finds a revolutionary mathematical proof among the mathematician's papers, the characters become steeped in conflict as they struggle to determine who wrote the proof.

"Though the play explores themes of isolation, suspicion and betrayal, it does so with such a compelling grace and beauty, the characters and their story will linger long after you leave the theatre," said Director Diane Shaffer. (Editor's Note: See Diane's bio below)

The show features Marie De La Hoz as Catherine, Don Bowman as Robert, Niki Boyer Swatski and Claire and John Richards as Hal. Proof is produced by Pam Rohrbach.

Performances are April 25 - 28 and May 2 - 5 with shows Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $20 for adults and $17 for children 12 and under and are available at www.HersheyAreaPlayhouse.com. Please note that the play contains adult language.

Diane Shaffer (director) graduated with a BFA in Theatre from the NYU School of the Arts. She studied acting with Lee, Anna and John Strasberg and was a member of The Actors Studio Playwrights/Directors Unit.

After acting in numerous regional and Off-Off Broadway productions, Diane joined a girl group named "The Steinettes." They appeared in two Robert Altman films, "Popeye" and "Health," for which they co-wrote the music. They hit the Billboard Charts with Robey's "One Night in Bangkok," provided McGuire Sisters vocals for the Broadway production of "Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean," were the opening act for Rodney Dangerfield and Martin Mull and headlined at The Village Gate. They were profiled by Calvin Trillin for the New Yorker Magazine. Though their appearances spanned television, film, radio, and clubs, they were most known for street singing on the corner of West Broadway and Spring Street in SoHo.

Diane's play "Sacrilege" was produced on Broadway and starred Ellen Burstyn. It was included in the Smith & Krause anthology "Women Playwrights - The Best Plays of 1995." The film version was, for a time, under the auspices of Martin Scorsese. Diane's collection of One-Act plays, "Solace at Twilight," is published by Samuel French. Her play "Viva la Vida!" starring Mercedes Ruehl was produced by the Bay Street Theatre. Actors Sylvia Miles, Jeffrey Tambor and Christopher Walken have done readings/staged readings of her work. Diane is pleased to direct her second production for Hershey Area Playhouse. The first was "Wait Until Dark."

Pictured: Catherine (played by Marie De La Hoz) and Hal (played by John Richards) share a kiss after Hal tells her that he has liked her since the day they met in her father's office. Photo Credit: Nathan Grumbine.