Don't miss 'Proof'

Matthew Roland, Aarya Sara Locker and Cindy Phillips (left to right) in Theatre on the Square’s ‘Proof’

As elegantly as the play’s mad mathematician coaxed into being his renowned calculations, Proof portrays the love of a father and daughter living with the imminent threat of deteriorating mental illness. The play won the 2001 Tony Award for Best Play and the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; after seeing Theatre on the Square’s current rendition of it, you understand why.

TOTS begins with top-notch material and brings it to the stage with an excellent cast. Aarya Sara Locker portrays 25-year-old Catherine, who has spent the last five years isolated from the world, caring for her mentally ill, once brilliant father, played by TOTS artistic director Ron Spencer. After her father’s death, Catherine must face her overbearing sister, Claire, played with panache by Cindy Phillips, and one of her father’s ex students, Hal, a sweet guy with just a touch of nerd, played by Matthew Roland. (Hal’s rock band of fellow mathematicians plays a song called i — imaginary number — that is three minutes of silence.) When Catherine shows Hal a complex proof that she wrote, she has to deal with Hal and Claire’s skepticism about its authorship, as well as face her own fears that she inherited more than just her father’s mathematical flair.

With direction from Julianne Inskeep, Locker’s Catherine finds just the right combination of self-doubt and belligerence, and Spencer is the quintessential gritty but loving father figure — even when consumed by his illness. All four actors mesh remarkably well, creating a seamless and completely believable drama with a few laughs to lighten the load.

The entire play takes place on Catherine’s porch, TOTS’ second stage, effectively transformed by set designers James Trofatter and Spencer.

Bottom line, this is a beautiful show that anyone can enjoy. Don’t miss it. Proof runs through March 15. TOTS is located at 627 Massachusetts Ave. For tickets, $25 (students, military personnel and seniors $20), call 317-685-TOTS or go to tots.org.