What a challenge it must be to tackle a recent Broadway success such as David Auburn's Proof, now playing at George Street Playhouse. Proof tells the story of one woman trying to figure out just how much of her recently deceased father's tendencies (both genius and crazy) she has inherited. While the mathematics does serve as the catalyst to the story, the crux of the play's focus lies in familial dysfunction. Audiences embraced Proof's story and consequently, during its three years on Broadway, Proof became the longest running straight play in recent memory as well as the most critically acclaimed and awarded show of the last twenty years, garnering both the Pulitzer Prize for drama and the Tony for Best Play.
A fact that is not so widely known, however, is that Proof began its life at New Brunswick's George Street Playhouse back in 1999 during a two-week new plays workshop that was held at the theater. In an attempt to reintroduce the play to its audience as well as to send a message to members of the state legislature about the need for arts funding, George Street Playhouse has once again brought Proof to its boards, this time as a full-scale production.
On the outset, this particular production has everything going for it: the stationary set is meticulously and exquisitely designed by R. Michael Miller, the lights are appropriate and mood specific (designed by Christopher J. Bailey) and this production's Catherine (Ali marsh) is a dead ringer for Mary-Louise Parker, who originated the role in New York as well as won a Tony for Best Leading Actress.
Aside from these things, the production seems to fall slightly short. While Ms. Marsh looks like a clone of Ms. Parker, she also attempts to duplicate Parker's performance, subtle intricacies and all. Whether or not this was intentional, it will be made painfully obvious to someone who saw the original New York production. Marsh, playing a 25 year-old woman who has taken care of her mentally ill but also mathematically famous father for years, does give a performance that is enjoyable. The problem that arises is that her performance ultimately does not satisfy -- as the heroine of the play and a character who is in every scene, Marsh comes across as hesitant and unsure rather than as a performer who has embraced the complexity of the role and of the play.
Eric Altheide (Hal) suffers from similar problems as, while a solid and attentive performer in his own right, he is miscast. Altheide plays a former student of Catherine's father who now himself teaches. While his character is supposed to be 28, Altheide looks no more than 19 or 20 years of age. His costumes do not help to age him either -- he is outfitted in clothing fitting of a teenager rather than of an associate professor. Altheide is very genuine and enjoyable to watch while on stage, but his acting instincts (and direction) also seem to reflect someone in a younger age bracket.
Kelly McAndrew, who portrays Claire, Catherine's older sister, again gives a nice performance, but again also seems to be slightly misguided by either her direction or instincts, or both. McAndrew fairs very well when behaving like the irreverent and ignorant older sister, consumed by her professional life, but continually looks to get a laugh out of her audience. Rather than simply allowing the laughs to come because they are naturally written in the script, McAndrew goes to them repeatedly instead of looking for any subtext or other finer points to her character, resulting in a performance that becomes one-sided and redundant.
Playing Robert, Claire and Catherine's father, Brian Smiar is the only member of this small cast who brings new life to his role while still retaining the complex beauty of the script. Throughout, Smiar is attentive to the story and other characters as well as intriguing to watch. Smiar's Robert goes through the changes of a beginning, middle and an end, while his fellow actors' characters remain more stagnant than going through a transformation.
George Street Playhouse's production of Proof is, contrary to these criticisms, a good production. Those who have never seen or read the play before will enjoy it and most likely will not notice (as much) the missing pieces. While the production is not stellar, it will indeed serve to bring in more fans of the play.
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