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magidThursday night, I went to the Chelsea TheatreZone production of Proof (yes, the same piece that has come out recently as a movie).
First, the annoying parts. Which were
(1) the directions. The main directions were ok, but the 'back roads' directions were horrible, not including most of the street names, nor distances, and relying on a driver noticing businesses en route. Plus, one long paragraph, rather than stepped out. And no link to a map, either Google or Mapquest. If I hadn't been to the theater before, I never would've found it. I did suggest that they update their website.
(2) the audience (other than the people I was with, of course :-). A couple of them hadn't heard about unwrapping candies and other snacks before the show starts (or the intermission ends). Or not talking during the show. Heck, I could hear someone's cell phone set to vibrate. It was really distracting from the show. And really, it's not necessary to clap every time the lights go down for a set change.
The show itself, however, was really good. I was very impressed with the actor playing the protagonist, a woman who has dropped out of a math undergrad program to take care of her mentally ill (but formerly brilliant) mathematician father. It jumps around a bit chronologically as it addresses the questions of whether he should have been in a nursing home, and who wrote a brilliant proof, along with a bunch of sibling dynamics and so on along the way.
Random: The set was the back porch of an older house, with old wicker furniture and such. This is another show with a fair bit of food in it (though I think the final tally included more beverages consumed than food). I wonder how tricky it is to have fresh food each night (compared to a show where everything is set in advance, so theoretically there's nothing to worry about once the show starts).
This makes two plays about female mathematical genii: Arcadia and Proof. It's a trend I approve of :-).
First, the annoying parts. Which were
(1) the directions. The main directions were ok, but the 'back roads' directions were horrible, not including most of the street names, nor distances, and relying on a driver noticing businesses en route. Plus, one long paragraph, rather than stepped out. And no link to a map, either Google or Mapquest. If I hadn't been to the theater before, I never would've found it. I did suggest that they update their website.
(2) the audience (other than the people I was with, of course :-). A couple of them hadn't heard about unwrapping candies and other snacks before the show starts (or the intermission ends). Or not talking during the show. Heck, I could hear someone's cell phone set to vibrate. It was really distracting from the show. And really, it's not necessary to clap every time the lights go down for a set change.
The show itself, however, was really good. I was very impressed with the actor playing the protagonist, a woman who has dropped out of a math undergrad program to take care of her mentally ill (but formerly brilliant) mathematician father. It jumps around a bit chronologically as it addresses the questions of whether he should have been in a nursing home, and who wrote a brilliant proof, along with a bunch of sibling dynamics and so on along the way.
Random: The set was the back porch of an older house, with old wicker furniture and such. This is another show with a fair bit of food in it (though I think the final tally included more beverages consumed than food). I wonder how tricky it is to have fresh food each night (compared to a show where everything is set in advance, so theoretically there's nothing to worry about once the show starts).
This makes two plays about female mathematical genii: Arcadia and Proof. It's a trend I approve of :-).