FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 16, 2004

CONTACT:
Lisa Lacher, (515) 271-3119, lisa.lacher@drake.edu

DRAKE THEATRE DEPARTMENT GIVES AUDIENCE 'PROOF'

On Thursday, Sept. 30, the Drake University Theater Department will open its mainstage season with "Proof," David Auburn’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning story of a young woman’s struggle with the death of her father, and with the talent and mental instability that is her inheritance.

"Proof" will run for four performances, beginning Thursday, Sept. 30, through Sunday, Oct. 3, in Studio 55 of the Harmon Fine Arts Center, 25th Street and Carpenter Avenue. Show times are 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets are $5 for the general public, $3 for senior citizens and non-Drake students and $1 for those with a Drake ID. Reservations are recommended due to limited seating. For reservations, call the Drake Fine Arts Box Office at (515) 271-3841.

ABOUT THE PLAY
Are we destined to become our parents? This is Catherine’s greatest fear, a fear which heightens after the death of her father. In his younger days, Catherine’s father, Robert, was a mathematical genius and professor at the University of Chicago. But his brilliance took its toll on his sanity. Catherine has spent the last five years of her life caring for him in their home while he compulsively filled thousands of notebooks with gibberish. Now, with his recent death, she must rebuild her life and face the fear that, along with his considerable talent for mathematics, her father may have passed his mental illness along as well.

Meanwhile Hal, a former student of Robert’s, is searching everything the late professor left behind for any lucid work, hoping to rescue some small piece of his genius—and falling for Catherine. To make matters worse Catherine’s sister, Claire, comes home to Chicago for the funeral and announces she’s selling the house and wants Catherine to return with her to New York. As Catherine grows closer to Hal and farther from Claire, Hal makes an amazing discovery: a proof for which mathematicians have been searching for centuries. When the authorship of the revolutionary proof is called into question, the doubt tests Catherine’s relationship with her sister and feelings for Hal to their limits.

"Proof" is a story about family, not higher mathematics and David Auburn’s script is simple and naturally beautiful. Family strife, lost youth, rivalry, and grief float through his elegant language. The sisters’ heartache is universal, as is Claire’s fear for her sister, and Catherine’s fear for herself. While few families have a mathematical genius, every family knows conflict and pain, and can relate to the poignant story of loss and renewal.

Winner of both the 2001 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for drama, "Proof" has garnered the highest critical praise throughout the country. The New York Times hailed it as “Exhilarating,” while Time magazine named it “One of the year’s 10 best.” New York Magazine urged readers to “Run and get your tickets immediately! A play stuffed with wit and humanity. 'Proof' is a joy.” The San Francisco Chronicle exclaimed, “Proof is one elegant piece of work. Seeing it twice might not be enough. It charms you with the complex interplay of a father and daughter, hooks you on a mystery about a mathematical proof and leads on to the fathomless riddles of family, love, a parent’s decline and a damaged child’s struggling lurch toward freedom.”

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
David Auburn’s "Proof" premiered at the Manhattan Theater Club in May 2000, and opened at Broadway’s Walter Kerr Theater in October 2000. A graduate of the Julliard playwrighting program, Auburn received numerous awards for "Proof" including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Tony Award for Best Play, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Broadway Play and many more. His other plays include "Skyscraper," "Fifth Planet," "Miss You" and "The Next Life." He has had his work published in both Harper’s magazine and The New England Review. A film version of "Proof" is in post-production.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
The Drake University production will be directed by Michael A. Rothmayer, assistant professor of theatre arts. The cast features Laura Wiese (as Catherine), Jacob Klinkhammer (as Robert), Lesa Dencklau (as Claire), and Adam Bates (as Hal).

DRAKE THEATRE'S 2004-2005 SEASON
"A Girl's Guide to Chaos" by Cynthia Heimel — Oct. 28-31
"The School For Scandal" by Richard Brinsley Sheridan – Nov. 18-21
"Anton In Showbusiness" by Jane Martin – Dec. 2-5
"No Exit" by Jean-Paul Sartre – Feb. 24-27, 2005
"Pippin," a musical by Stephen Schwartz and Roger Hirson – March 10-13, 2005
"Crimes of the Heart" by Beth Henley – April 28 - May 1, 2005

- 30 -