Review: DETC Mounts a Fine Production of PROOF

In 2001, David Auburn wrote a Tony and Pulitzer prize winning comedic drama, PROOF, that explores the fine line between genius and madness. Now, Desert Ensemble Theatre Company (DETC) has mounted a fine production, well directed and well-acted by its ensemble cast.

I think I'm an iconoclast. I didn't like the cherished DEAR EVAN HANSEN or HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, and I was, likewise underwhelmed by the script for PROOF. Nevertheless, it is not the playwright's fault, but instead is an unhappy coincidence that the dates that figure heavily in a play that was first released in the early part of the 21st century happen to be September 4th (the main character's birthday) and her father's instruction to a student to see him in his office a week later, on September 11th. The date coincidence led me, almost eighteen years after the horrific attack on the Pentagon and World Trade Center, to think this story would be about 9-11. Ignore the specific dates - they are irrelevant, and could just as easily be any set of dates near the beginning of a school term.

As to what the play actually is about, I'm not totally sure, which is partially why I can't wax more enthusiastic about this well-done production. Is it about the close connection between genius and madness? If so, what is that connection? Is it instead a simple story about whether a crazy genius math professor, despite his mental illness, managed to come up with the most brilliant proof in centuries about prime numbers? A simple mystery about whether someone stole the math professor's work? I happen to think that the theme is something different - that a person who has been immersed in caring for her mentally ill father for four years and who is showing signs of mental illness herself may actually be healthy, but must receive the space she needs to heal from the trauma that her sacrifice has caused. Perhaps the reason the script received such accolades is that, despite its flaws, it can be viewed on so many levels.

Director Jerome Elliott brings forth strong performances from his cast, especially in the second act. Kelley Moody (Catherine), better known to Coachella Valley residents as an anchor, meteorologist, and reporter for KESQ News Channel 3, and Larry Dyekman (the professor) have superb chemistry as the father and daughter who both love and resent each other. Lee Rice (Claire), as the other member of this loving and resentful family triangle is also superb. Sam Benson Smith (Hal), in his DETC debut, turns in a fine performance as the hopelessly geeky math student turned hopelessly geeky math professor. The technical designers (Ashton J. Bolanos, lighting; Lauren Bright, scenic design; and Frank Cazares, costumes) also deserve accolades.

PROOF will certainly force the audience members to think, which may be exactly what the playwright had in mind. Because of that, because of the fine production with high production values, and because of its fascinating juxtaposition in terms of story line and theme with DETC's prior play (FOR A REASON), PROOF is worth seeing. The disappointment is that I expected so much more from the script itself, but the playwright, in my opinion, does not deliver.

Performances take place at the Pearl McManus Theatre, in the Palm Springs Woman's Club, 314 S. Cahuilla Road, (two blocks south of Palm Canyon Blvd.), in Palm Springs, California.

PROOF will run through March 24th, on Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m., and on Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $25 each ($26.87 including service fee), plus tax. Call 760-565-2476 for tickets or more information, or consult the web site, www.detctheatre.org.

The rest of DETC's 2018-19 season consists of:

GRACELAND and ASLEEP ON THE WIND, by Ellen Byron (April 19-21 and April 26-28, 2019)

Two one-act plays presented on the same program, with an overlapping character. GRACELAND takes place at the entrance to Elvis Presley's mansion, at five o'clock in the morning, three days before the estate is to be opened to the public. Two Presley fans, Bev and Rootie, are camped out before the gates, each determined to be the first to enter. ASLEEP ON THE WIND takes place ten years before GRACELAND, in Bayou Teche, Louisiana. Rootie's favorite brother, Beau, wants to convince Rootie to finish school and to tell her that he has volunteered to go to Vietnam.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jerome Elliott

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