The Carlyle Players are back again at the Mineola Memorial Library for their free performance of Proof on Saturday, March 30, at 2 p.m.
Proof, which was written by David Auburn, tells the story of Catherine, a troubled young woman who has spent most of her life caring for her brilliant, but unstable father, a famous mathematician. Following his death, she must deal with her own volatile emotions, the arrival of her estranged sister, Claire, and the attention of one of her father’s old students, Hal, who hopes to find something useful in one of the 103 notebooks her father has left behind. But her most difficult problem of all is figuring out how much of her father’s madness or genius she has inherited.
Proof stars Lisa Giunta, Peter Goike lll, Stephanie Fischer and Nick D’Avanzo, who is also the director.
“I play Robert, a mathematical genius, who discovered incredible math proofs in his early 20s,” said D’Avanzo. “Soon after that, Robert goes nuts and never does any important work again. His deep love for his daughter is obvious. I was intrigued to play Robert, because of his many layers of personality. He is an extremely complex individual and a great role for any actor.”
Proof, according to D’Avanzo, is an intense drama, which studies mental illness and the possibility that it can be inherited from parent to child.
“The audience should expect to see a very well-acted, interesting play,” said D’Avanzo.
“Catherine is a complex person,” said Giunta. “She has sacrificed tremendously in order to take care of her father. At the play’s opening, she finds herself in her late 20s and directionless, having missed out on the opportunity to attend college or have any kind of life outside of the role of caretaker. She is also struggling with her own mental health issues and often boomerangs between emotions. But she has something to prove as a mathematician, including as a woman in a male-dominated field and as the daughter of one of the leading mathematicians in the world.”
Giunta also said that the audience can expect to see a gripping, moving and character-driven drama that touches upon many relatable issues involving, among other things, mental health struggles, sibling and family dynamics, new relationships, the burdens frequently shouldered by caretakers and challenges faced by women in STEM fields.
