In a reprise from last season, Theater 199 is presenting its successful production of David Auburn's Proof. It is always interesting to see the transformations a play can undergo within another set of references. Here, an excellent cast (at least for this viewer) gives a different general impression of the relative importance of the characters. Certainly their orientation to the Russian rather than Anglo-American school of acting opens up other suggestive possibilities for the by-now-familiar plot.
Noted mathematician Robert dies leaving his many notebooks that include a new proof of a long-unsolved conundrum in number theory, where most mathematical conundrums reside. Daughter Catherine saw dad through his last years while he gradually went insane. Was she co-author of this proof or possibly author as she states, in other words did her genes enable her to produce an outstanding effort in spite of limited formal mathematical training? Coercive older sister Claire can't help us on this one. Nor is Robert's (former) student Hal honest enough to admit that Catherine could have been involved in dad's work or be her father's equal. From time to time Robert breezes through in flashback or Catherine's imagination.
Most American commentators have seen Catherine as the main character with the others in decidedly supporting roles. Here at Theater 199, Catherine's conflict is indeed central, but the two men are in every way her equal. As Robert, Atanas Atanasov's larger-than-life stage personality steals the audience's attention whenever he glides across the stage. Under Galin Stoev's direction he leaves open the possibility that while deteriorating mentally, he was also observing other's reactions to him as well as formulating his own. Kamen Donev displays a formidable acting technique as colleague/possible love interest, Hal. His complex and nuanced reading is perhaps the best part of this production. Radena Vulkanova plays Catherine as a typically voluble and very modern Bulgarian young woman, thus ensuring believability. Stefania Koleva makes the best effort to bring the relatively boring part of Claire alive.
Marina Raichinova's set consists of scrim-like hangings laden with mathematical formulas in white on a dark ground. They look very effective in the uncredited lighting scheme that selectively illuminated various playing areas. Minimal stage furniture includes a mini-spiral of three steps. Costumes are contemporary.
Theater 199 gets its name from its former seating capacity, now a more-comfortable 170. It is a black-box type, with physical facilities midway between Off-off- and Off-Broadway by New York standards. Like the other theaters on Sofia's theater row -- Slavianska Street -- this is a partially-subsidized repertory house, but without a stable group of actors. With Proof, the company gets a head start over most other theaters, which wait until the traditional opening month of October.
