A new excitement in theater

When the David Auburn play Proof, under the direction of Daniel Sullivan and headlined by Jennifer Jason Leigh went onstage during the 2001 Broadway season, it quickly became a celebrated drama that had critics from New York to San Francisco gushing.

"Exhilarating. An assured new play that is as accessible and compelling as a detective story," exulted the New York Times. The San Francisco Chronicle glowed, "Proof is one elegant piece of work. Seeing it twice might not be enough. It charms you with the complex interplay of a father and daughter, hooks you on a mystery about a mathematical proof and leads on the fathomless riddle of family, love, a parent’s decline and a damaged child’s staggering lurch towards freedom."

Now, Oscar winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow is busy rehearsing for her take in Proof at the West End run.

Last January, the Filipino theater-going public became familiar with what all the fuss has been about in Broadway as Atlantis Productions brought the Auburn drama to the GSIS Theater in Pasay City with Bayo sponsoring the opening night and Northwest Airlines, Sommerset Millennium Suites and the Philippine STAR as sponsors. Despite the fact that much of the nearly two-hour drama unfolds at the back porch of a house settled in Chicago’s Hyde Park, audiences have been anything but restless.

True enough, the drama – efficiently orchestrated by director Bobby Garcia with able assistance from set designer Marjun Cristobal and light design by Gerry Fernandez – plays out like a mystery minus the Agatha Christie-like murder in the plot. In its place is not only the niggling mathematical proof by a brilliant but tragic musician (Michael de Mesa) but also the question of whether his daughter, Catherine (Lea Salonga) has inherited his madness or not – which is ultimately answered only after Catherine has had to deal with her formerly estranged sister, Claire (Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo) and the growing affections of her father’s former student, Hal (Joel Trinidad).

Departing from the image that the public has come to love – musical and squeaky clean – Lea was initially unsettling in the role of the neurotic and sharp-tongued Catherine. She quickly overcame the image handicap and engaged the audience with her character’s downward spiral into madness by being petulant, withdrawn, caustic, vulnerable and indignant in all the right places. Lea successfully stripped away any layer of opaqueness from her lovely face that the audience understood both her venomous anger and paralyzing fear.

Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, a Repertory Philippines veteran conveyed the errant sister’s confusion, frustration and deeply-rooted insecurities with consummate flourish. Trinidad imbued what could have been a forgettable character with equal amount of earnestness and timidity in the face of the explosive drama that unfolded before him. De Mesa was by turn, pompous and tragic, as he played out the mathematician’s ultimate descent into madness.

To be sure, Proof had none of the magical bombast of Salonga’s last theatrical turn here – or were you one of the few who missed out on the Manila production of Cameron Mackintosh’s Miss Saigon? But that said, this was nonetheless a triumph for this internationally-acclaimed artist.

By gamely taking on a material that deviated from her well-established – and highly bankable image – Lea Salonga has provided proof positive to everyone in the theater world that there is life for her beyond music and Miss Saigon.

Proof was produced by Atlantis Productions. In July, Atlantis Productions will make Manila audiences to be one of the first to see Rent creator Jonathan Larson’s other musical Tick Tick Boom, which he wrote right before Rent. Tick Tick Boom, is a semi-autobiographical rock musical recently had a critically-acclaimed run off-Broadway and will soon begin a National Tour across America. It was singled out by Time Magazine as one of the best musicals of 2001.

The Manila production, directed by Bobby Garcia will be one of the first outside North America. The show has Proof playwright David Auburn as script consultant. Tick Tick Boom is set to star Jett Pangan of the Dawn, Bituin Escalante and Michael de Mesa. It runs from July 26 to August 11 at the RCBC Theater in Makati. Reservations for show buying are now accepted.

In November, fresh from the Halloween season, Atlantis Productions revives the cult rock musical The Rocky Horror Show, which recently had an electrifying revival on Broadway and was nominated for several Tony Awards. The Rocky Horror Show is a spoof on B-movies and sexual ambiguity told through classic ’50s inspired rock and roll music.

The much-anticipated revival will also be directed by Bobby Garcia with costume design by Rajo Laurel and lighting design by Gerry Fernandez. Auditions for The Rocky Horror Show will be announced soon.

Atlantis Productions’ recent staging of Hedwig and the Angry Inch is also mentioned and featured in the DVD of the movie version of Hedwig and the Angry Inch starring John Cameron Mitchell in the special features section in the documentary Whether You Like It Or Not.

For more inquiries on Tick Tick Boom and The Rocky Horror Show, contact Atlantis Productions at 892-7078.