Glenview’s Oil Lamp Theater is performing the Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning “Proof” by David Auburn for a limited engagement March 3 through April 3. “Proof” will be the first in the theater’s trilogy of plays this season that explore the relationship between fathers and their daughters, including “Father of the Bride” (opening April 14), and “On Golden Pond” (opening June 16).
“Each of of these plays are about fathers struggling to connect with their daughters in a dynamic and changing world, and about daughters trying to reconcile who they want to be, with who their DNA says they are,” Artistic Director Keith Gerth said.
Joe Page of Evanston portrays Robert, a brilliant mathematician ravaged by mental illness, and Ann Marie White plays his daughter, Catherine, caretaker to her father, and a gifted young mathematician in her own right. “Proof” is set during a volatile weekend during which Catherine is faced with balancing her father’s death and disapproval with the romantic advances of her father’s former student, Hal (Martin J. Hughes). With the arrival of Catherine’s estranged sister Claire (Hannah Williams) and the discovery of a mysterious notebook, Catherine is drawn into the most difficult problem of all -— how much of her father’s madness, or genius, will she inherit?
“Whenever we consider doing a play, we generally ask the question, ‘why this play, now?'” Gerth said. “‘Proof’ became a timely choice for us, reflecting the important national discourse about women who are trying to break barriers in order to ‘have it all’.”
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In “Proof,” Catherine, on the eve of her 25th birthday, is faced with trying to penetrate the old boys network of mathematicians. “Women in STEM fields continue to face gender discrimination and lack of representation in research and higher education,” Gerth said. “So when Auburn’s female protagonist is forced to defend her intellectual ownership of a groundbreaking mathematical proof hidden within her father’s journals, she must fight against societal and self-imposed limitations to fully embrace her potential genius.”
Oil Lamp Theater is partnering with the National Alliance on Mental Illness Cook County North Suburban for this production to provide insights on mental health issues through a pre-show introduction and a brief post-show discussion.
Also new this season are Community Nights at Oil Lamp Theater. This initiative was created with first-time visitors in mind, offering a free night for each of the theatre’s six 2016 shows. Newcomers will be invited to fill the whole house free of charge on the opening night of each production, starting with “Proof” on March 3.
Oil Lamp partnered with the Northfield Food Pantry in order to get the word out about the performances. “While the North Shore is often viewed as affluent, the reality is that many people struggle every day to make ends meet, and as a public trust we feel it’s critical that we meet the needs of everyone in our community,” Gerth said. “This is our way of celebrating our creative vision, and promoting a common good to humanity through the performing arts.”
‘Proof’
When: March 3-April 3
Where: Oil Lamp Theatre, 1723 Glenview Road, Glenview
Tickets: $35
Contact: 847-834-0738; www.oillamptheater.org