Of Proof and Krispy Kreme

A few nights ago, I encouraged folks in this area to go see the Exit Through Eden production of Proof at the Raleigh Ensemble Players theater downtown. I went so far as to say that if we sold out the house, I would buy Krispy Kreme donuts for all who wanted them.

To my great pleasure, we did indeed sell it out, and quite a few of us ate donuts after the show.

What made me far happier, however, was how good the show was. Within a very short time after the play began, I forgot that I was in a small Raleigh theater watching a local production and instead lost myself in the show. I very much enjoyed it. I knew the story and script would be good; this drama won several Tonys. The rest of the production did it justice. The small set was clever and worked well. The direction was sharp. The acting was good. It was a good play.

All four actors turned in strong performances. I'm friends with one of them, Eric, so I have to recuse myself from commenting on his work due to friendship bias--though I will say I believe all present would agree he did a good job. I don't know any of the other actors, though, so I feel fine in noting that both Ryan Brock (Hal) and Page Purgar (Claire) inhabited their roles with ease and were quite good.

The star of the show, however, was Betsy Henderson as Catherine. I could have watched her all night. Her intelligence, her inner conflicts, her love for her father, her anger at her father--all the complexity that made Cathy a great character was right there in Henderson's performance. I've seen many a professional production, including some on Broadway, with weaker performances from actresses in key roles.

I went to the theater this evening to support a friend.

I left feeling moved and happy to have been lucky enough to see a strong play.

Proof runs Saturday and Sunday this weekend, and then all three days next weekend. Catch it if you can. You'll be glad you did.