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Emotional -
Math
"Proof;" about the search
for an elusive mathematical
equation, deals with
issues of family, trust
and relationships.
ALICE BURDICK SCHWEIGER
Special to the Jewish News
A
ctor Stephen Kunken, who
co-stars in the road compa-
ny production of the Tony
Award and Pulitzer Prize-
winning play Proof, has a very person-
al connection to the show.
Playwright David Auburn was
Kunken's friend and classmate at the
illustrious Juilliard School in New
York City.
Now, Kunken gets to travel across
the country performing in his friend's
critically acclaimed drama, which pre-
mieres in Detroit at the Fisher
Theatre April 23-May 12.
Other members of the cast include
Chelsea Altman, Robert Foxworth
and Tasha Lawrence.
When Auburn first presented Proof
in a workshop, he cast Kunken as the
young graduate student Hal, but the
actor was under contract with another
show at the time and couldn't get out
of it.
"But I watched the show blossom,"
Kunken recalls, and by the time Proof
took Broadway by storm, he was free
to take over as Ben Shenkman's
understudy for the role
of Hal, the part Kunken
landed in the national
touring production.
"Proof is absolutely ter-
rific, and I think it's
amazing that it was writ-
ten by a 30-year-old
man," Kunken adds.
The play is about a
brilliant, yet mentally
unstable, University of Chicago pro-
fessor (Foxworth) who, before his
death, is working on an esoteric
mathematical equation. While coming
to grips with the loss of the father
she's taken care of, Catherine
(Altman) yearns to put the pieces of
the mathematical puzzle together. She
asks Hal to search through the profes-
sor's 103 notebooks of work.
Meanwhile, Catherine's estranged
sister, Claire (Lawrence), arrives, cre-
ating sibling conflicts. And while
examining the professor's work, Hal,
who becomes romantically involved
with Catherine, makes some fascinat-
ing discoveries. Finally, Catherine
must confront how much of her
father's genius — or madness — she
has inherited.
Above: Chelsea Altman
plays Catherine and
Stephen Kunken is Hal
in "Proof" playing at
Detroit's Fisher Theatre
April 23-May 12.
Left: Veteran actor
Robert Foxworth plays
a brilliant mathematics
professor in "Proof"
Audience Reaction
In preparing for the role, Kunken says,
it wasn't essential he become proficient
in math. "Although they brought in a
mathematician to help us, the play is
more about relationships, family, trust
and issues that are close to all of us,"
he notes.
The show, still running on
Broadway with Jennifer Jason Leigh in
the lead role, made its debut there in
October 2000; the road company tour
began in Seattle at the end of
September 2001.
The 16-city tour includes perform-
ances in San Francisco, Houston,
Dallas, New Haven, Boston,
Baltimore and Minneapolis.
Kunken says audience reactions vary
from city to city.
An Apple For Simon
T
he first "Apple Award," sponsored
by the Nederlander Co. LLC and
Wayne State University and named in
honor of Sarah Applebaum
Nederlander, will be presented to ven-
erable playwright Neil Simon April 24
at Detroit's Fisher Theatre during a
black-tie gala event. The award con-
sists of $10,000 and a crystal apple.
The evening festivities include a
pre-show reception with Simon, the
presentation of the award and the
evening performance of Proof. As part
of the award, Simon will share his
experiences with students of WSU's
Department of Theatre earlier in the
day.
The Apple Award will be presented
annually to a nationally recognized
theater professional. Proceeds from the
evening gala will benefit the Sarah
Applebaum Nederlander Award for
Excellence in Theatre, a visiting fund
for WSU's College of Fine,
Performing and Communication Arts.
The . event, which is open to the
public, was postponed from last
November due to Simon's back sur-
gery. Tickets range from $250-$400
for the event and the play.
For more information about the
benefit or to order tickets, call (313)
577-1458.