Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...You may well think you have seen David Auburn's "Proof," the story of a single, 25-year-old Hyde Park woman grieving for the mathematically brilliant father who has left her bereft. The Broadway national tour came through Chicago. There was a very solid production at the Goodman Theatre, featuring an African-American cast. And there was the 2005 John Madden movie, starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Anthony Hopkins. But director Charles Newell's revelatory new take on this Chicago story at the Court Theatre — which features a simply breathtaking and currently peerless central performance from Chaon Cross — explodes all those other productions, deconstructing what has always been seen as a well-made play so it becomes instead an intensely expressionistic portrait of a brilliant woman teetering on the grieving edge of insanity."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...Mathematical beauty on that level might well be beyond the understanding of most of us. But audiences can almost always identify a beautiful play when they see it. And there can be no doubt that David Auburn's 2001 Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning "Proof," now in an emotionally piercing (and, at many moments, downright funny) revival at Court Theatre, has a particular beauty and elegance in terms of its ideas, structure and insights into the complex nature of inheritance, both intellectual and psychological. Like the play, this production is exceedingly smart. More importantly, it is fierce."
Time Out Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...Unfortunately, the overly performative quality of Cross's Catherine makes it difficult to believe in her mental instability. The actor wanders around the stage frantically, clutching her cable-knit sweater. As with the chair choreography, her actions feel like forced, external representations of her condition rather than natural reactions. The rest of the ensemble fares better, but Newell's overcomplicated Proof throws off its logic."
ShowBizChicago - Highly Recommended
"...Every tense sense in the play takes place on the weathered back porch of Cathy and Claire's childhood Hyde Park home - a stunningly simple yet enormously effective set designed by Martin Andrew. Newell's decision to strip the show down to a few key elements - a cleansing shower, subtle yet effective lighting - lets the performers truly shine. And with such a smart, compelling script and a wholly talented cast, Proof equates to a truly mesmerizing, utterly engrossing show."
Chicago On the Aisle - Highly Recommended
"...There is much to mull in the way Auburn sets up his secrets, and the psychological layering and insight in his dramatic narrative leaves plenty of room for the director, designer and actors to play around. Director Charles Newell takes an approach that burrows deep psychologically, but is lively, emotionally freeing and sometimes very funny."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...The production is complete from head to toe and the technical aspects truly help it work. The music/sound by Andre Pluess, and lighting by Keith Parham are the parts that bring the senses into viewing a solid story that needs to be concentrated on. One cannot afford to miss all the components of this "formula" for telling a story to perfection and you won't!"
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Director Charles Newell brilliantly allows the play to flow and find different rhythms through comedy, suspense, and emotional tension. Aided by scenic designer Martin Andrew 'Proof' portrays a grey-scale house and sun porch, surrounded by glass walls that expose Catherine's fragility. Beautiful and angular lighting by Keith Parham throws the audience into her uncertain mind."
