Proof's progress toward Broadway continues apace. Sources close to the production have the David Auburn play landing at the Walter Kerr Theatre in October, making it one of two Manhattan Theatre Club productions -- the other being Charles Busch's The Tale of the Allergist's Wife -- to find a home on Broadway this autumn.
Proof's residency at the Walter Kerr is "likely," said Rocco Landesman, head of Jujamcyn Theatres, which owns the Walter Kerr. He noted that the booking was not certain, saying MTC had "to work out a few more details." But he added that, of a couple shows that had recently vied for the theatre, Proof was Jujamcyn's preference.
Proof's march to commercial and critical success has been rapid and steady. The show, directed by Daniel Sullivan, opened at Manhattan Theatre Club's Stage I May 23 to overwhelmingly positive notices. It then extended until July 30. (There is no official word of August dates. However, star Mary-Louise Parker told Playbill On-Line, Proof would be extended at least to the end of August, and that she would continue to the end of July and possibly longer.) Talk of Broadway began soon after, culminating in Parker's decision to remain with the show instead of joining the Roundabout Theatre Company's scheduled fall production of O'Neill's Desire Under the Elms. The Roundabout subsequently scotched the O'Neill play. (Proof has proved pretty good at knocking out its competition. Sources have the drama beating out Neil Simon's The Dinner Party for the Kerr).
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Act One of David Auburn's drama about the daughter of a math genius and his legacy, ends with a shocking sentence from star Parker, creating a palpable gasp from the audience and leaving them eager for Act Two. Larry Bryggman, Johanna Day and Ben Shenkman join Parker for the MTC world premiere.
Director Sullivan helmed Broadway's recent A Moon for the Misbegotten as well as Off-Broadway's Dinner With Friends.
Parker performed in New York stagings of Prelude to a Kiss, How I Learned To Drive and Communicating Doors and is known for her film acting in "Bullets Over Broadway," "Grand Canyon" and "Fried Green Tomatoes."
Bryggman, who plays Dr. John Dixon on TV's "As the World Turns," is seen frequently on New York stages. On Broadway, he's appeared in Prelude to a Kiss, Picnic, Richard III, The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel, and Off-Broadway he's acted in Bodies, Rest and Motion, New England, Dearly Beloved and Wolf Lullaby, among others.
Day appeared in New York's Vicks Boy, How I Learned to Drive, Oedipus (Blue Light Theatre Company) and more.
Shenkman's credits include Roundabout's The Deep Blue Sea, Baby Anger at Playwrights Horizons and Antony and Cleopatra at the Public Theater.
Playwright Auburn is a recent recipient of a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship. His plays include Skyscraper, (Greenwich House Theatre in 1997), Fifth Planet (New York Stage and Film), Miss You (HBO Comedy Arts Fest) and The Next Life (Juilliard School).
Designers for Proof are John Lee Beatty (set), Jess Goldstein (costume), Pat Collins (lighting), Jon Gromada (sound).
MTC is at 131 W. 55th Street. For $50 ticket information call, (212) 581 1212, or try the MTC web site at http://www.mtc.org.
