Aurora University presents award-winning drama ‘Proof’

“Proof,” an award-winning drama by American playwright David Auburn, will be staged by the Aurora University theater department at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, April 18-21, in Perry Theatre in the Aurora Foundation Center at 1305 Kenilworth Place, Aurora. Admission is free.

Cast members are Richard Westphal of Aurora, as Robert; Emily Fuller of Aurora, as Catherine; Jeff Goins of Bristol, as Hal; and Emily Karnick of Crystal Lake, as Claire. Kelly Roush of St. Charles is the director.

The play concerns Catherine, the daughter of Robert, a recently deceased mathematical genius in his fifties and professor at the University of Chicago, and her struggle with mathematical genius and mental illness. Catherine had cared for her father through a lengthy mental illness.

Upon Robert’s death, his ex-graduate student Hal discovers a paradigm-shifting proof about prime numbers in Robert’s office. The title refers both to that proof and to the play’s central question: Can Catherine prove the proof’s authorship?

Along with demonstrating the proof’s authenticity, the daughter also finds herself in a relationship with 28-year-old Hal. Throughout, the play explores Catherine’s fear of following in her father’s footsteps, both mathematically and mentally and her desperate attempts to stay in control.

The play premiered off Broadway in May 2000 and transferred to Broadway theater in October 2000. The production closed in January 2003 after 917 performances. The play won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play.