“Proof” is a play about mathematicians, but its heart lies not in logic, but in human emotion. It is about the tenderness and care, and sometimes resentment that grows between families as parents, children and siblings have to swap roles and care for each other in ways that are outside the usual order of things.
It’s about ambiguity and fear, and yes, it’s about love.
The latest show at the Peterborough Players is “Proof”, a Pulitzer and Tony Award–winning play written by David Auburn, and directed at the Players by Charles Morey.
The central figure of the play is the 25-year-old Catherine. The daughter of a famous mathematician, Catherine gave up her own promising career to stay home and care for her father, who was suffering from an unspecified mental illness, reminiscent of real-life Nobel Prize winner John Forbes Nash.
The play weaves the narrative between the present day, in the wake of her father’s death, as Catherine navigates the concern of her older sister and one of her father’s former students, who is interested both in her father’s work and Catherine herself, and the past, as Catherine lets go of school to stay home with her ailing father.
The play opens on a backyard porch in Chicago, the sole setting throughout the play. Designed by scenic designer Charles F. Morgan, the setting reflects the declining mindset of the house’s owner. What once might have been a well-appointed home is now fronted by a door in need of washing, a long-dead houseplant, and framed by fences that are starting to be pulled down by ivy.
Each role has some delicate balancing to do, and none more so than Catherine, played by Ella Stevens. Catherine is her father’s daughter, and she fears in more ways than one — having inherited his brilliance, but perhaps also his instability, even if it doesn’t express itself in the same way. She’s sarcastic, sometimes even caustic, but also has a deep concern for her father. The scenes between Catherine and her father Robert, played by Kevin Cristaldi, express a tenderness and devastation created by the great chemistry between the actors.
Cristaldi has perhaps the biggest range to play in the production, as he presents Richard during both lucid and mentally deteriorating states. Richard’s frustration at his failing brain, and eventual descent into filling notebooks with feverish and ultimately incomprehensible writing, are heartbreaking to watch on stage, and Cristaldi brings a fragility to the character.
Philip Fine Schneider plays Hal, a former student of Richard, who is desperate to sort through his former mentor’s hundreds of notebooks, hoping to find any spark of something useful. At 28, he already feels past his creative prime, and as though his own work is uninspiring. Slightly awkward, sometimes pompous, but ultimately endearing as he and Catherine set off sparks in each other.
Catherine’s sister, Claire, played by Ellen Adair, is caring to the point of overbearingness, carrying the guilt of Catherine having given up her youth to care for their father, and concerned about her sister in the wake of the shared trauma of losing their father. Claire is a character that could easily be unlikable — she clearly has her own ideas about what is best, even if they don’t align with her sister. Adair plays her with a balance of warmth and concern and given just enough justification that the characterization comes off more misguided than malicious.
“Proof” is a heartfelt, sometimes wrenching look at the dynamics of human relationships. A balanced mix of drama, romance and humor, this play taps into scenarios that touch on real human emotions, and is a must-see this season.
“Proof” is a play in two acts, with a short intermission. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. on weekdays and 4 p.m. on weekends. “Proof” plays through Aug. 9. Tickets are available at peterboroughplayers.org.
