Twenty-five years ago, David Auburn’s powerful play, Proof, won both the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The original production, which I found quite moving, starred Mary-Louise Parker who deservedly won the Best Actress Tony. It’s one of the very few productions to have its entire cast Tony-nominated. That feat may just be repeated with the first Broadway revival, currently playing at the Booth Theatre.
Set in Chicago, the play opens with Catherine (Ayo Edebiri) having a dialogue with her mathematical genius father, Robert (Don Cheadle) whilst celebrating her 25th birthday on their front porch. She worries that she might be “crazy” like her dad. But he assures her that a crazy person would never be questioning their sanity as she is doing. Alas, things are not what they seem, since we soon learn Robert died a week earlier and he is just a manifestation of Catherine’s mind. She had cared for her dad through his long illness, putting her own math studies on hold. Now, she’s a wreck.
Enter proud geek Hal (Jin Ha), late 20s, who has been upstairs, in the house, searching through some of the 103 notebooks Robert left behind in hopes of discovering something worth publishing. In his early 20s, Robert made major contributions to three mathematical fields. Hal, a former student, holds Robert in high esteem and appears to have a crush on Catherine. But does Hal have ulterior motives?
Enter Claire (Kara Young), Catherine’s overbearing older sister who has flown in from New York City to help settle Robert’s estate. Claire is concerned about Catherine’s mental stability and drops the bombshell that she is selling the house and wants Catherine to move to New York.
I’m going to stop here because if you are unfamiliar with Proof (or forgot key plot elements as I had) it is best to allow this formidable production to reveal the terrific twists and turns as they happen.
Keenly directed by Thomas Kail (Hamilton, Sweeney Todd revival), this revival plays like an absolutely riveting thriller right up until the final moments. I was also impressed with the lighting (by Amanda Sieve) during scene changes.
Edebiri, who is onstage for most of the show, does wondrous work, shifting from depressed and lethargic to excited and game, as needed. Her Catherine is a fascinating enigma. Is she nuts? Brilliant? A bit of both? What is clear is the toll caregiving has taken on her and anyone who’s ever cared for an ailing parent and then lost them will appreciate the despair and exhaustion she conveys. It’s a Tony-worthy turn.
(Cheers to all these Emmy-winning The Bear thesps taking over Broadway!)
And speaking of Tonys, Young has been nominated for four consecutive Tony Awards, winning two in a row (for Purlie Victorious in 2024 and Purpose in 2025). She may just need to clear a new spot on her mantel for a third award (definitely a fifth nomination) for her amazing work. Young is understated yet potent as Claire, showing us just the right blend of sibling rivalry, jealousy, resentment, doubt, concern and compassion. Imagine being the one who doesn’t inherit the genius gene? She is flawless.
Cheadle, the celebrated film actor making his Broadway debut, gives much needed nuance to a difficult and somewhat underwritten role.
Ha (M. Butterfly revival, Hamilton) has quite a challenging part and does a fine job keeping the audience guessing about his motives and machinations. He also provides needed comic relief.
You don’t have to be a math nerd to appreciate Proof—although if you are, that’s certainly a boon. The play is about love and family and that fine line between brilliance and madness. Sadly, the reverberating theme of how society tends to minimize and even discard the contributions of women, is still timely today–perhaps even more so than 25 years ago.
Proof is playing a limited engagement, through July 19, 2026, at the Booth Theatre (222 W. 45th Street, NYC). For tickets visit PROOF.
