REVIEW: Fine balance of drama, humor equal success for ‘Proof’ at TCR

CEDAR RAPIDS - “Proof” proved me wrong.

I have deliberately stayed away from this play and movie over the years, fearing its theme too depressing and sad to be entertaining.

However, this 2001 Pulitzer- and Tony Award-winning drama that opened this weekend at Theatre Cedar Rapids is neither depressing nor sad. It does have moments of great passion and angst, but in many places, it's very funny and sweet. Friday night's near-capacity audience laughed a lot. (4/9/10)

Because the story is not too well-known, I won't give away the plot twists and turns, except to say they all add up to a fine show that makes you think and care.

It's an intimate piece, with just four characters who weave in and out of the action on the back porch of a math professor's home in present-day Chicago. The house is as worn down as its occupants. Demetrios Hadjis portrays the professor with just the right mix of gruffness, frustration and affection, while Rachel Korach Howell reels us into daughter Catherine's world of fear and loss.

Catherine dropped out of college to care for her ailing father as he spiraled downward into mental illness. Just 25, she lives in relative isolation, consumed by her own fear that she's inherited both her father's illness and his genius.

Her sister Claire, played to annoying perfection by Jessica Link, swoops in to take control and pull Catherine out of her own downward spiral. Claire has been caring for her family's finance from afar, removing herself from the daily dramas by carving out a career in New York. She is successful and tough, and doesn't take no for an answer. An underlying current of resentment runs both ways between the sisters.

Adding another layer of turmoil is Hal, a young math professor who wants to search through his mentor's journals in hopes of finding any new theories that might have sprung out of the professor's moments of clarity. Rob Merritt embodies Hal's social awkwardness as he discovers personal and professional wonderment with Catherine.

J. David Carey has directed this show with a deft touch, allowing the actors to explore the humor and pathos of the situation. Bret Gothe has created a simple, one-piece set that speaks quietly in pastel hues with touches of decay, heightened by intricate shadow play from Derek Easton's lighting design.

All the elements fit the play's intricate equation to a fine degree.