Review Roundup: What Did Critics Think of PROOF at Everyman Theatre?

Proof recently opened at Everyman Theatre in Baltimore and the reviews are in! Find out what the critics had to say.

When it comes to genius... where's the proof? Everyman Theatre proudly presents Tony and Pulitzer Award-winning Proof, a time-honored classic in the 20th-century American theatre Canon. Directed by Resident Company Member Paige Hernandez (Queens Girl in the World/Queens Girl in Africa), the show runs from September 3 - October 6, 2019.

Catherine (new Resident Company Member Katie Kleiger) has inherited her late father's house, hundreds of his notebooks, and his mathematical genius. Terrified she also inherited his psychosis, she allows one of his devout students to comb through the writings. When he discovers a revolutionary proof in one of the notebooks, Catherine must face new questions from her past and risk, for the first time, revealing who she truly is to the world and herself.

The play returns to the Everyman stage after its ground-breaking success at the original Charles Street theatre in 2003. After her breakout role as Catherine in 2003, Everyman Resident Company member Megan Anderson returns to play Catherine's older sister Claire. Resident Set Designer Daniel Ettinger reimagines a new environment that visually animates the mystery and emotion of Catherine's inner life through technological updates previously unavailable in 2003.

Read the reviews below!

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Tina Collins, BroadwayWorld: Proof could be subtitled "trust" as the characters' motives and mindsets are constantly in question. Auburn carefully sets up stereotypes that can be molded into something more or less by the actors' performances. The cast meets this challenge with finesse. Kleiger is both bright and vulnerable as Catherine, displaying both her flaws and finer aspects and leaving the audience to guess which will win out in the end. Anderson comes in sharp, clicking about in stilletos, as the assertive older sister who wants to sweep in and clean up the mess. The sibling interaction is both comical and exasperating. Is Claire just an opportunist? The same question can be asked about Hunter's ambitious and charming grad student, Hal, whose attraction for Catherine coincides with his desire for that one magnificent career-making mathematical poof. Nelson's intense and heartbreaking turn as a great mind brought down by its own illness ensures that Robert's influence permeates these three lives even when he is gone.

Terry Teachout, The Wall Street Journal: Part of what is so impressive about this staging, and about Everyman Theatre more generally, is its lack of self-regarding showiness. Everyone is clearly committed to presenting Mr. Auburn's play in a way that is scrupulously faithful to his intentions: This is David Auburn's "Proof," not Paige Hernandez's "Proof." At the same time, there is nothing stiff or impersonal about the production-it draws you in as soon as the lights go down, and doesn't release you until the very last beat of the script.

Norah Dick, MD Theatre Guide: Katie Kleiger gives Catherine a grounded, somber energy. In a subtle performance, she communicates the many shades of a complex woman, at a complex time in her life. Jeremy Keith Hunter's playful incarnation of Hal is a nicely pitched counterpoint to Catherine; his affectionate mugging for her enjoyment provide moments of levity and help set the stage for a fine romance.

Amanda N. Gunther, TheatreBloom: Geek-forward and so dorky its adorable, Hal (Jeremy Keith Hunter) slips into the world of Proof as an innocent outlier, an unpredictable side-factor that serves to complicate the plot whilst pushing it forward. Hunter possesses a natural felicity for dorky charm as well as an earnest existence on the stage. Living in the physicality of someone who is too smart to be socially 'cool', Hunter crafts a beautiful, engaging chemistry with the Catherine character with simple turns of textual delivery. The Hal character's existence is defined by Hunter's interactions with the Catherine character; the tension of all sorts rises rapidly between them, with Hunter delivering passionate emotional expressions in each of their exchanges.

Jessica Gregg, Baltimore Style: Catherine steals the show with a shocking admission that earns audience applause. Played by Katie Kleiger, she is both confident and self doubting, bold and yet reduced by her caretaker role. Her honesty and her evolution drive the plot.

Photo Credit: DJ Corey Photography

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