“The sum of the squares of the sides of a right triangle equals the square of the hypotenuse,” recited the Scarecrow when endowed with a brain by the Wizard of Oz. And that’s about as far as the average person gets into higher math.
Robert (Lon Ward Abrams) as a young professor at the University of Chicago did groundbreaking original work called a mathematical proof, only to burn out so quickly that by the time he was in his forties he was incapacitated by dementia His work degenerated to mere drivel and his younger daughter Catherine (Jill Jones) had to curtail her college education to take care of him. Older daughter Claire (Whitney Morse) inherited only a modicum of analytical brilliance, but is now a successful financier in New York City.
When the father passes away, a doctoral student Hal (Nicu Brouillette) asks Catherine if he can review the Robert’s notebooks in search of any clues of a breakthrough. Hal is the quintessential nerd whose hobby is playing in a band comprised of other mathematics nut cakes. The band’s favorite tune is “i” which all mathematicians know is an imaginary number.
Flashback scenes between Jones and Abrams are tenderly played. Catherine has inherited her father’s gift with figures but fears that she also will have that brief flash of brilliance and then herself go into a tailspin.
Hal comes up empty handed in his search of the Robert’s notebooks. Catherine, after a brief liaison with Hal, gives him a notebook that she claims is her original work. It is an astounding treatise, so much so that Hal suspects that she may have plagiarized her father’s work. Sister Claire also is in disbelief. Is Catherine lying or is she capable of developing mathematical proofs beyond those of her father? The question hangs in the balance until the very last word of the play.
Jones, Morse, and Brouillette all give professional quality performances.
The Black Box Theatre has open seating on form-fit plastic seats. During intermission patrons can purchase beverages at the Tierra Del Sol bar which is contiguous.
My tickets cost $30 each. For other information check out their Facebook page or visit www.TheSharon.com.
Jack Petro reviews local theater for Villages-News.com