2008 Woodie Awards
Soap Star and Students Light Up in Proof
Broadway Hit Sticks to Its Word and Proves It With a Sold Out Audience
Michael T. Martin
Issue date: 9/16/04 Section: Arts and Entertainment
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Proof, a 2001 Tony-winning show penned by David Auburn, ended its successful two-week run at the Fox Theatre last Sunday.
The show, a result of the collaboration between TheatreFest and MSU's Theatre and Dance Department, played to sold out crowds in its closing weekend.
Although Montclair's shows regularly attract decent audiences, there was special interest in Proof because it was the first show in which TheatreFest's equity actors have been featured with MSU students in a production. Equity actors are paid for their performances with TheatreFest, while MSU students benefit from working with seasoned professionals.
Moreover, this production was made especially significant by its star, Heather Tom, the Emmy-winning actress from the television soap operas The Young and the Restless and One Life to Live.
Proof is the story of Catherine (Tom), a-25-year-old woman who had to put her life on hold to care for her mentally ill father, Robert, played by Stephen Bradbury. When the play begins, Robert, also a renowned mathematician, has just died. Catherine, currently lacking a sense of purpose, has sunken into depression.
Catherine agrees to let one of her father's favorite students, Hal, played by senior Paul Reisman, look over some of Robert's notes from his last years.
Hal takes a romantic interest in Catherine, and although she resists him at first, she eventually agrees to see him.
Meanwhile, Catherine's sister, Claire, a socialite played by senior Kelley Faulkner, is visiting for the funeral.
Amidst all the funeral plans and budding romance, Catherine allows Hal to see one last notebook.
It's filled with a long, seemingly improbable math proof.
Then, Catherine startles Hal and Claire by revealing that she, not her father, wrote the unprecedented proof.
The show breaks for intermission, leaving the audience intrigued by this unexpected revelation.
The show, a result of the collaboration between TheatreFest and MSU's Theatre and Dance Department, played to sold out crowds in its closing weekend.
Although Montclair's shows regularly attract decent audiences, there was special interest in Proof because it was the first show in which TheatreFest's equity actors have been featured with MSU students in a production. Equity actors are paid for their performances with TheatreFest, while MSU students benefit from working with seasoned professionals.
Moreover, this production was made especially significant by its star, Heather Tom, the Emmy-winning actress from the television soap operas The Young and the Restless and One Life to Live.
Proof is the story of Catherine (Tom), a-25-year-old woman who had to put her life on hold to care for her mentally ill father, Robert, played by Stephen Bradbury. When the play begins, Robert, also a renowned mathematician, has just died. Catherine, currently lacking a sense of purpose, has sunken into depression.
Catherine agrees to let one of her father's favorite students, Hal, played by senior Paul Reisman, look over some of Robert's notes from his last years.
Hal takes a romantic interest in Catherine, and although she resists him at first, she eventually agrees to see him.
Meanwhile, Catherine's sister, Claire, a socialite played by senior Kelley Faulkner, is visiting for the funeral.
Amidst all the funeral plans and budding romance, Catherine allows Hal to see one last notebook.
It's filled with a long, seemingly improbable math proof.
Then, Catherine startles Hal and Claire by revealing that she, not her father, wrote the unprecedented proof.
The show breaks for intermission, leaving the audience intrigued by this unexpected revelation.