BWW Reviews: Noisy Nest's PROOF Holds Up
Proof/written by David Auburn/directed by Amanda Bird/The Lounge Theatres/thru April 12, 2015
David Auburn's 2000 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Proof receives a sturdy mounting from Noisy Nest, with Amanda Bird directing the real-time scenes with a firm grip.
Catherine (the 25-year-old daughter of Robert, a math genius and college professor) has been caring for him for years now as he battled a debilitating mental illness. Robert having just died, Catherine now has to grapple with her estranged older sister Claire coming into town to help with arranging the funeral and handling post-death legalities. Intermingled in all the proceedings; Hal, Robert's former student, needs access to Robert's office to look through Robert's numerous notebooks in the hopes of finding a new mathematical proof. The existence of this proof would show that Robert hadn't lost his genius and gone completely crazy near his end.
The performers reviewed (Proof's double casted) include Hope Lauren as Catherine, Barbara Howlin as Claire, Ashley Murray as Hal and Chaz Bono as Robert. Lauren's Catherine's the strong, solid center of this play. Everything revolves around her. Hal needs her permission to come into the professor's house. Claire needs to reconcile her guilt for not being physically available to care for their ailing father, Now Claire feels the responsibility to worry and care for Catherine's possible craziness of her own. Robert (or at least his ghost) has to reminisce with Catherine as she's the only one he can talk to. Lauren's up for all the tasks, whether battling/appeasing the sister she hates; or ignoring, then flirting with the math geek her father mentored, or talking at (not with) her father (in flashback and in her mind). Lauren and Murray's scenes have fire, energy, and great chemistry. Their flirting scenes ring way true! Very nice! In their sister scenes, Lauren and Howlin play like an even-opponent tennis match lobbying compliments and returning with annoying quips. Bono's conversations with Lauren rightfully seem from another show as they really are only in Catherine's mind. Bono's affectations and gesturings make for a studied, empathetic crazy.
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