[NEohioPAL] Berko review: PROOF @ Lakeland Theatre

[Roy Berko]

*Lakeland’s PROOF:  masterful script and production*

Roy Berko
(Member, American Theatre Critics Association, Cleveland Critics Circle)

What happens when you combine a well conceived script, which tells a
meaningful story, and it gets a masterfully staging?   You get, Lakeland
Theatre’s PROOF.

Is there a thin line between genius and mental illness?  Can a person “burn
out” when s/he gets near the age of 40, no longer able to muster up the
deep thoughts that appeared so easily in their early twenties?   Can a
woman be a mathematical genius?  These are only three of the questions
broached by playwright David Auburn in his 2001 Pulitzer Prize and Tony
winning play PROOF.

PROOF centers on Catherine, a young woman who has spent years caring for
her father, Robert, a professor at the University of Chicago, who was a
brilliant mathematician in his younger years.  As he passed forty, he lost
his acuity.  He wrote continually, but the material was irrational.  After
he dies, Hal, a former student, probes into Robert’s ramblings with the
hope of finding something worth publishing, thus pushing ahead Hal’s
stalled career.  With Catherine’s help, Hal discovers a paradigm-shifting
proof about prime numbers in Robert's office.  He assumes it was his
mentor’s work.  Catherine claims the proof was conceived by her.  Hal
questions this conclusion, doubting that a woman with little in-depth
knowledge of mathematics could create such brilliance.  His reaction not
only seemingly ends their relationship, but brings front-and-center
Catherine's fear of following in her father's footsteps--mathematical
genius and mentally ill.

It’s interesting that the author attended the University of Chicago where
he studied political philosophy, not mathematics.  In reality, it matters
little as there is no actual inclusion of mathematical concepts.  This
should relieve those who fear the show because it might be too abstract and
technical.

The Lakeland production, under the razor focused direction of Martin
Friedman, wrings clear meaning from the script.  This may well be the
finest of the four productions of this play that I’ve seen.
Mitchell Fields makes Robert a living being.  He slips into Robert’s skin
and becomes the mathematician/professor. Elizabeth Conway makes Catherine,
his youngest daughter, a compassionate, troubled woman.  This is not just a
performance. Conway transforms Catherine into a real multi-faceted woman.
Her disheveled hair, which is accompanied by erratic finger combing,
parallels her troubled mind, but she displays rationality, when her hair is
coiffed.  It’s a wonderful stage device to allow for audience clarity.

Aron Elersich, as Hal, the young mathematician,  develops a clear
character, even drumming his fingers on his legs and beer bottle to
represent his alter drummer ego.  Laurel Hoffman, as Catherine’s older
sister, clearly develops her character, and completes a picture-perfect
cast.

Keith Nagy’s backyard set, complete with mathematical formulas on the
fences, is realistic and makes for an excellent blank canvas for Friedman
to paint the script’s pictures.

*Capsule judgement: What happens when you combine a perfectly perceived
script, which tells a meaningful story, and a gets masterfully staged
show?   You get, Lakeland Theatre’s PROOF.  This is a production everyone
interested in a good story and a great production must see!*

For tickets to the theatre which is on the campus of Lakeland Community
College, call 440-525-7526.  The show runs through October 7.
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