by David Auburn
The Program
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The Cast:
Catherine - Ellen Gallagher
Robert - Tom Helfrich
Hal - CPT Ben Grimes
Claire - Carolyn Burmedi
The Play takes place on the back porch of a house in Chicago. Catherine has spent years caring for her brilliant but unstable father, a famous mathematician. His last years were spent furiously scribbling notes and theories into notebooks. Catherine abandoned her own university education to care for him, unwilling to institutionalize him. Following his death, she now faces the arrival of her estranged sister who has new plans for her future, and the attentions of a former student of her father’s who hopes to find valuable work in the 103 notebooks that her father left behind. Over a long weekend, a burgeoning romance and the discovery of a mysterious notebook force Catherine to face the most difficult problem of all: how much of her father’s madness – or genius – has she inherited? It is not a story about math; it is a story about family, love, relationships, and trust.
One of the most acclaimed plays of recent seasons, Proof won the Pulitzer Prize, three Tony Awards (including Best Play), two Drama Desk Awards, a Drama Critics Circle Award, and others; it was the longest-running Broadway play in over 20 years.
"Proof is.. a play about scientists whose science matters less than
their humanity.. all four [characters] - whether loving, hating, encouraging
or impeding one another - are intensely alive, complex, funny, human."
- John Simon, New York
“Exhilarating. . . as accessible and compelling as a detective
story.” -- The New York Times
“A stunning, riveting play.” – ABC World News Now
“Rich and compelling.” --New York Daily News
The Characters:
Catherine turns 25 as the play begins. She has spent
the past four years caring for her father. She shows signs of inheriting
her father's mathematical gifts, but she is also worried that she might have
inherited his illness. She admits to having no friends, nor much of
a life outside of the house.
Robert, Catherine's father, was a brilliant mathematician
at the University of Chicago, but hadn't been able to work for many years
due to a debilitating mental condition. The play opens the day before
his funeral; we see Robert in flashbacks before and during his
illness.
Claire, Catherine's older sister, is a currency analyst living
in New York. She has supported Robert and Catherine financially over
the years. She arrives for Robert's funeral, and hopes to bring order
to Catherine's life.
Hal, 28, is a former student and admirer of Robert, and is
now a university professor. Hal is going through the notebooks Robert
left behind, looking for anything of importance. He is eager to
make his mark on the world of mathematics.
Auditions: January 12 & 13, 2004,
7pm, at Roadside Theater
Performances: February 20, 21, 27, 28, March
3, 5, 6, at 7:30pm, and Feb 29 at 3:00 pm
Click here to purchase a copy of the script from Amazon:
Cast-only pages - updated 23 FEB 04
