Loma Linda University’s Humanities Program recently presented David Auburn’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play Proof, bringing theater, mathematics, family relationships, and questions of identity together on the stage of Damazo Amphitheater.
Performances were held October 3, 4, 10, and 11 and featured Otinelis Iancu, Dr. Kenneth R. Wright, George Adame, and Caitlin Carnes. The production was co-produced by Wright, professor of anatomy, and Iancu, along with Brady Greer Huffman, who served as both co-producer and director.
For Huffman, Iancu, and Wright, Proof continued a longstanding collaboration with the Humanities Program. Since 2013, the three have helped lead thought-provoking theatrical productions for the program, using live performance to explore complex dimensions of the human experience.
Written by David Auburn, Proof centers on Catherine, a young woman who has spent years caring for her brilliant but troubled father, a renowned mathematician. Following his death, Catherine must navigate grief, her relationship with her estranged sister, Claire, and the growing attention of Hal, one of her father’s former students.
When the discovery of a mysterious mathematical proof raises questions about its authorship, Catherine is confronted with something even more personal: how much of her father’s genius, and his struggles, she may have inherited.
At its heart, Proof explores questions that extend far beyond mathematics. The play examines family, trust, mental health, caregiving, identity, and the sometimes uncertain boundary between genius and instability.
Following the October 10 performance, the conversation continued with a talkback, giving audience members an opportunity to engage with the themes and questions raised by the production.
Reflecting on the performance, Leo Ranzolin, dean of the Loma Linda University School of Religion, described it as one of the best performances presented by the Humanities Program.
For Huffman, the production and the conversation that followed demonstrated the value of creating a community in which challenging works of art can be both experienced and thoughtfully discussed.
“I’m so grateful to have a community that supports challenging works of art, and then provides a safe place to discuss the themes and relevance of the work afterward. My artistic heart is full!” Huffman said.
The production reflects the broader mission of the LLU Humanities Program to create opportunities for the university community to encounter important questions about the human experience through literature, theater, art, and conversation. Proof offered an especially fitting intersection of the sciences and humanities, inviting audiences to consider not simply what can be proven, but also questions of trust, identity, family, and what we inherit from those who shape our lives.
Through productions such as Proof, the Humanities Program continues to provide space for meaningful dialogue and reflection across disciplines, extending the experience beyond the stage and into conversations that remain after the final curtain.
The production was presented by the Loma Linda University Humanities Program under special arrangement with Concord Theatricals.
Photo credit: Brady Greer Huffman
