"Proof", produced by Rosalind Productions at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble

I have seen many productions of David Auburn's clever and touching play, and from the get-go, I have to say up front that this was my very least favorite.

Now, I know it's not fair to compare one production to another, and that a good critic analyzes a piece on its own merits. So putting aside even the ify workshop version of "Proof" I once saw that still put this expensive production to shame, I will attempt to do just that.

For those of you who don't know the plot of this gem, it's (very basically) the story of a young girl who has just missed out on her college years for single-handedly taking care of her mentally ill mathematics genius of a father. The play jumps back and forth in time, showing moments of their relationship before his death and her attempts to cope with his loss, exposing the possibility that she inherited not only his brilliance but his insanity.

The main character of this drama, Catherine, is repeatedly mentioned to be 25 years-old -- which considering the story's time-line makes sense. She can still go back to school without feeling like she's missed too much time -- a point of some discussion. So perhaps someone can explain to me why the actress cast in this lead role -- Abigail Rose Solomon -- looks, sounds and acts like a 36-year-old soccer mom. It is a CONSTANT distraction. She just doesn't fit. And worse: on the night I saw her she just didn't know how to act. Apart from getting character's names wrong and bobbling lines (the show was weeks into opening, so there really was no excuse), she spat out her lines as if she had utterly no interest in using them to respond to what was being said to her. No stakes (but for the occasional bout of shouting), no connection, no sense of back story, no relish in the wonderfully dry wit of the character. Basically she played one note the whole night: loud. Maybe it was one of those "bad nights" actors can have. REALLY bad. Still, the casting was simply awful here. How did no one notice this?? And then my theatre-going partner noticed this little item in the program: Abigail Rose Solomon is not only the star...she's one of the PRODUCERS of Rosalind Productions, who is renting out the space at the Odyssey to present this play.

So now it's clear: this is a vanity production thrust upon Los Angeles theatre goers!

Moving on:

Ariana Johns as her sister Claire fares little better. Drab, uninspired and devoid of stakes, she wandered around the set seeming to have strayed into the wrong production, like the "actor's nightmare", and stuck on stage now had to make the best of it. And again, casting issues: even if we were to believe that Catherine was actually 25, her sister, as played by Ms. Johns would be close to 15-20 years her senior. I know this can happen in families, but it seemed a poor choice for the show. She ALSO blew lines.

Comparatively, the work of the remaining two cast members -- veteran actor Greg Mullavey and Micah Freedman, as Catherine's father and almost-boyfriend, respectively -- was delightful. Mullavey brought real depth and a quiet center to the man facing his own slow demise, sadly needing to hang on to his daughter for sanity (and his acting chops made up for HIS line flubs). Still, he rarely really connected to the actress playing his daughter (then again, consider what he had to work with.) And Freedman was terrifically sweet, believably nerdy and well-meaning in what is probably the least interestingly written character in the piece -- a case when casting the right actor helps a role bloom. He might be the only actor who didn't stumble on lines that night -- or maybe merely by comparison to the others....

Adam Blumenthal's set was a beautifully-wrought back porch of a not-entirely well-maintained house. Sadly, the back of the set was not well insulated, so you could hear every movement of the cast backstage as the show went on. I noticed there was no sound designer listed, which makes me feel a little bit better about saying that the inter-scene music and sound was sloppy, unproduced sounding, unimaginative and bland. But still...they had the money to build this lovely set but NOT hire a sound designer? They sure could have used one, as the transitions from one scene and time to another felt clunky, awkward and choiceless (a word I feel applies to most of this production): none of the music told us anything about the tone of the show--the tracks were merely placeholders.

I have to say that I am actually quite astonished that this mess was directed by LA favorite Elina DeSantos, whose work I have admired for some time. Perhaps this was the best she could get out of this often amateurish cast. Perhaps she was a gun-for-hire who was paid by the producer/star to take the cast sight-unseen and make them look good. Despite her typically simple, clear staging, even Ms. DeSantos couldn't work that Herculean task.

Bottom line: D+

Till next time!
--HDSQ, Jr.