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Everything Adds Up In 'Proof' At The Moth Theatre

Ryan David McRee |
January 18, 2015 | 8:01 p.m. PST

Staff Writer

John Cirigliano and Amanda Brooks (Photo by Korbis Sarafyan)
John Cirigliano and Amanda Brooks (Photo by Korbis Sarafyan)

Entering the Moth Theatre, a back-alley, modest theatrical venue, one would not immediately think they were on the verge of discovering magic. But the company’s production of David Auburn’s “Proof,” directed by John Markland, teaches its audience to expect the unexpected.

The Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning play is brought to life in the intimate setting in a manner only possible when constraints of space bring out the best in the artists involved, requiring creative problem solving and innovative design techniques.

The play chronicles the aftermath of the death of a famed, ingenious mathematician (John Cirigliano) who, in the twilight of his life, underwent a constant battle with mental disease and deterioration. His daughter, Catherine (Amanda Brooks), who sacrificed the prime years of her life to take care of him, is left with a number of unsettling questions. What will she do now that he’s gone? How will she deal with the arrival of her estranged sister (Felicity Price), flying in from the coast for the funeral? To what extent will she follow in her father’s footsteps? As a former student of her father’s (Chris Marquette) arrives in search of a profound mathematical gem among a sea of incoherent old journals, Catherine is forced to face her father’s legacy and questions of inheritance. Which did she receive more of: his brilliance or his instability?

 Chris Marquette, Amanda Brooks. Photo by Korbis Sarafyan.
Chris Marquette, Amanda Brooks. Photo by Korbis Sarafyan.

Strong performances from the entire cast truly engage the audience in the story of the play, but Brooks and Marquette shine in particular. As the two young intellectuals sharing a chip on their shoulders begin to form an unlikely romance, the connection and chemistry between the performers becomes the touching centerpiece of the story. Brooks’ troubled young Catherine begins as a rebel without a cause, but her profound loss becomes more and more clear as the complexity of her feelings toward her father are brought out. Gripping scenes between Brooks and Cirigliano reveal that the two loved each other very much, but Robert’s illness had always been a roadblock to Catherine’s success, and the shadow of his reputation a daunting one to live in. Marquette’s charming Hal coaxes her out of this shadow with a gentle, stable hand; except, of course, when he must deal with his own fears of inferiority.

The brilliance of Justin Huen’s design is in taking the challenges of the venue and running with them. The depth of the playing space is taken advantage of by adding dimensions to Robert’s house. The main setting of the action is the front porch of the house, with bits of scenes taking place in the kitchen. In the far back, Robert’s office is set up for Hal’s intense study of his notebooks, lit beautifully to suggest the poetic desperation of deciphering the elegant mathematical code that made his mentor a god. 

“Proof” is as elegant as the equations that are so pivotal to its story. David Auburn’s script makes us challenge the phrase “formula writing” as a pejorative description and instead consider the inherent beauty of logical succession—the art behind calculation. Moth Theatre represents that which is best about L.A. theatre in general; its work defies expectation and transcends space into something far more meaningful than what money can buy, and serves as proof that any and all provocative art simply requires thought. 

"Proof" is running through February 15 at the Moth Theatre (4359 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles). Tickets are $25. For more information, please visit www.MothTheatre.com

Reach Staff Writer Ryan David McRee here



 

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