Rating: 
Summary: Dramatic genius
Review: "Proof" is a taut examination of an uncentered young woman dealing with the death of her father, a math genius gone mad in his later years. She also faces the question of her own sanity and potential for genius, while juggling her well-intentioned sister's patronizing advice and the romantic advances of one of her father's protegés. The dialogue hits no false notes and the scenes timeshift from past to present in the service of the story and without stagey pretentiousness. It's wonderful writing and an intimate play to perform.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a Review of the Production
Review: A play, by nature, is not a tangible object, but a living breathing collaborative event. What we have here is only the script,which is the one constant of a play. Doesn`t anyone else wonder what went on with Catherine`s and Claire`s mother, assuming that there is only one Mrs. Robert; or what went on in Claire and Robert`s or Claire and Catherine`s past relationships? Auburn`s spare and straightforward script gracefully gives actors and directors the freedom to decide on and flesh out the characters` inner lives on their own. This humility and trust is one of the marks of good theatre. What a treat, as well as a task, this must be to work on! Furthermore, the lack of specifics in much of the characters` backgrounds contributes to the universality of the play. The examination of human experience, love, and choices is always great drama. This play, for all its references to science and math, really comes down to those basics. The genius of the play lies in its ability to communicate this to all manner of people.
Rating:
Summary: Missed it on Broadway ?
Review: After reading this script I'm kicking myself for not yielding to the urge to see this show on a recent visit to NYC. What a fascinating and engaging story!I'm rarely one for reading plays in published form - it's an odd and fundamentally second-tier genre, no? Sort of like reading sheet music! But this book was nevertheless entertaining, moving and, at times, startling. Although the story is ultimately a universal one, you might especially enjoy it if you are a fan of recreational mathematics or of stories about mathematicians - I am. Some of the recent splurge of fictionalized accounts include "Uncle Petros and the Goldbach Conjecture", "The Wild Numbers", and "The French Mathematician". They are great adjuncts to this story, sharing intimate looks at love, work, and insanity in the lives of those odd creatures - mathematicians. Of course the TRUE story of such a person and such an endeavor is that of Andrew Wiles' 1995 proof of the 350-years-old Fermat's theorem, described eloquently in Simon Singh's book, "Fermat's Enigma." Notwithstanding that long reading list, "The Proof" stands alone as a powerful work and as, perhaps, the most human of them all. The mathematics of the play serves as an abstract but intriguing backdrop for the story itself, which is one of family, madness and self-discovery. The sparseness of the casting, with only four characters, adds to the elegance of the tale and doubtless allows a theatrical production to build elements of character and setting that are only imagined by the reader. But go ahead and imagine. At 83 pages it will be, like any script, a quick read. Take the time to savor it.
Rating:
Summary: You do the math
Review: Brilliant writing; Brilliant plot; Brilliant dialogue; Brilliant insight: You do the math. This one is a stellar accomplishment, full of sound and fury, signifying just about everything. I saw this on Broadway, going into it not knowing anything about it. I was completely blown away. The premise is fascinating and it presents a unique and interesting dilemma without being melodramatic. The writing, scene changes, and excellent characterizations remind me of other writers out there: Miller comes to mind, McCrae's Bark of the Dogwood (though a book, not a play) and even the great Hitchcock. Don't get me wrong--this is not some inept mystery but rather a psychological thriller of sorts, excellently paced and plotted. But I don't mean "thriller" in the commercial way. No, this is one unusual play, and obviously deserved every prized it ever won. Who knew that someone could take such a dry subject as math and create something as wonderful, lush, and eloquent as "Proof." Also recommended: Death of a Salesman, Angels in America, Bark of the Dogwood, Painting Churches.
Rating: 
Summary: "Banging On An Already Open Door"
Review: David Auburn should be congratulated for having achieved the nearly impossible, writing a play every bit as boring and every bit as successful as the soporific "Copenhagen." Since the dramatist's chief idea is by now wholly conventional, indeed "old hat" - women may be undervalued as intelligences in math and science - and his method fashionably pseudo-Pinterish - we can't be sure just where the truth lies - it is no surprise that "Proof" would strike American academic types and the Pulitzer Committee as daring and "cutting-edge." I assume the success of this work with the general public is owing more to the performances of the various lead actresses than to anything memorable or distinguished in the actual playwriting.
Rating:
Summary: Proof positive
Review: David Auburn tells a very human tale of genius and mathematical discovery in the context of the larger struggle of finding a place for oneself. The characters coming to grips with their potential and weaknesses is one of the stronger themes of the play. "Proof" is deeper and more nuanced than the somewhat similar story of John Nash in "A Beautiful Mind." The setting of Hyde Park in Chicago is captured quite well. All told, Auburn deserves his Pulitzer. The false assertion that senior mathematicians take uppers to remain productive is, however, unfortunate.
Rating:
Summary: Life is not mathematics.
Review: David Auburn's play, "Proof," tackles the clear-cut vs. the unquantifiable elements of life. Robert and his daughter, Catherine, are gifted mathematicians. Robert was once a brilliant teacher who made groundbreaking discoveries in his field. Tragically, he became mentally ill in his twenties, and he has never fully recovered. Catherine, age 25, has sacrificed her formal education, her social life, and even her sense of self to care for her father and keep him out of an institution. When Robert dies suddenly, Catherine's older sister, Claire, flies in to Chicago from New York for the funeral. Claire is an actuary who has paid the family's bills for years, but she has led a full and successful life apart from her father and sister. The two sisters have a series of bitter arguments about guilt, responsibility and Catherine's future. Complicating the mix is a fourth person, Harold Dobbs, Robert's former student, who is interested both in Robert's notes and in Catherine herself. Auburn's play makes the point that higher mathematics is elegant and complex, but it is ultimately quantifiable. A proof either works or it does not. Life isn't like mathematics. It is messy, emotional and open-ended. As the characters interact (including the character of Robert in flashback), all of the pain and suffering that they have felt for years come to the surface. All four characters reveal their hopes, fears and regrets. "Proof" has an intimacy and an intensity that is extremely powerful. How much does a child owe his or her sick parent? What responsibility do we have to ourselves? How do we handle the situations in life that have no clear-cut solutions? Since life is not mathematics, there are no answers to these questions. However, Auburn implies, it is in the nature of people to keep trying, even though there are never any guarantees that our efforts will bring us happiness, love or fulfillment.
Rating:
Summary: Life is not mathematics.
Review: David Auburn's play, "Proof," tackles the clear-cut vs. the unquantifiable elements of life. Robert and his daughter, Catherine, are gifted mathematicians. Robert was once a brilliant teacher who made groundbreaking discoveries in his field. Tragically, he became mentally ill in his twenties, and he has never fully recovered. Catherine, age 25, has sacrificed her formal education, her social life, and even her sense of self to care for her father and keep him out of an institution. When Robert dies suddenly, Catherine's older sister, Claire, flies in to Chicago from New York for the funeral. Claire is an actuary who has paid the family's bills for years, but she has led a full and successful life apart from her father and sister. The two sisters have a series of bitter arguments about guilt, responsibility and Catherine's future. Complicating the mix is a fourth person, Harold Dobbs, Robert's former student, who is interested both in Robert's notes and in Catherine herself. Auburn's play makes the point that higher mathematics is elegant and complex, but it is ultimately quantifiable. A proof either works or it does not. Life isn't like mathematics. It is messy, emotional and open-ended. As the characters interact (including the character of Robert in flashback), all of the pain and suffering that they have felt for years come to the surface. All four characters reveal their hopes, fears and regrets. "Proof" has an intimacy and an intensity that is extremely powerful. How much does a child owe his or her sick parent? What responsibility do we have to ourselves? How do we handle the situations in life that have no clear-cut solutions? Since life is not mathematics, there are no answers to these questions. However, Auburn implies, it is in the nature of people to keep trying, even though there are never any guarantees that our efforts will bring us happiness, love or fulfillment.
Rating:
Summary: a great contemporary play
Review: For those naysayers who lament the death of the theatre, David Auburn's brilliant, intimate, touching ode to the mysteries of life, family, love and identity offers proof that contemporary playwrights are indeed creating brilliant works of art. Using four well drawn, three dimensional characters, Auburn paints a vivid portrait of a late mathemetician and his legacy of madness and genius. His youngest daughter may have inherited both as the play centers around identifying the authorship of a magnificent mathematical proof (which ends up being a brilliant use of Hitchcock's "McGuffin" rule). Auburn creates a play filled with an excellent series of suprises, revelations and passionate debates. His narrative is well structured as it provides the actors with clear objectives and a variety of tactics to explore and enact, all engaging the audience's attention and energy. Four of my friends recently produced the play and produced an evening of magic. A great theatrical experience demands a strong story to tell and Auburn provides such a vehicle with this, his Pulitzer Prize winning work. A brilliant piece of writing. A must read for theatre fans and practitioners alike. A most producable work as well. It would make for a fine addition to any theatre season.
Rating:
Summary: Very Enjoyable!
Review: Heard and thoroughly enjoyed the CD version of PROOF by David Auburn, the 2001 Tony Award for Best Play and the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for drama . . . it involves a somewhat dysfunctional family, including an enigmatic young woman and her manipulative sister
who both live in the shadow of their brilliant father who may or may not have developed a mathematical proof . . . Anne Heche is superb as the young woman.
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