| Sunday, January 28, 2007 |
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There's 'Proof" that dinner theater's back
9:35 PM :: 1274 Views ::
0 Comments :: Around the Neighborhood
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Dinner theater has returned to Lawton. For many years, there was a full season dinner theater going at Fort Sill called Cabaret Theatre. It's been several years since its demise, but many patron miss it. There have been a few one-production dinner theaters since, but nothing regular. This season with Blue Moon Productions moving to the Gunners Inn at Fort Sill, dining with the purchase of a play ticket is here again.
The current production is the hit Broadway play "Proof." It opened Jan. 26, 2007. It will continue performances Feb 2 and Feb. 3. Dinner is served beginning at 6 p.m. Curtain is at 8 p.m. The show runs approximately two hours with one intermission. Admission is $20. Reservations are required. Call 591-6730. Simpson advises that "Proof" does have strong language and is not recommended for children.
About "Proof" - the premise can be deceptive. At first glance, the idea of a
drama built around solving a mathematical equation appears somewhat dry, to
say the least.
"But, it's about more than that," says Sally Simpson, director of the Blue
Moon Productions staging of the Broadway hit. "Everyone in the play has
something to prove."
The play opens Friday at Gunners Inn on Fort Sill and has a two weekend run.
"Proof" is not really about math, and one need not worry about a pop quiz at
the end of the show. A young woman, Catherine, is taking care of her genius
father, Robert, at the end of his life. Catherine's sister Claire arrives,
attitude in tow, and also one of Robert's former students, Hal, shows up. A
romantic entanglement and many other old, swept-under-the-rug problems beg
to be sorted out before it's too late.
Caring for an elderly parent, dealing with family illness, sibling rivalry
and the uncertainty of flirtatious motives are all embedded in a series of
brilliant scenes by playwright David Auburn.
The play opened on Broadway in 2000. It won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize and a
Tony Award for Best Play.
There may be no better director for the show than
Simpson, whose father was a physicist and a teacher. There was always
classroom talk in our home growing up, she said. Simpson, best known in
Lawton for her roles in such productions as "The Trip to Bountiful" and
"Steel Magnolias," also has directing credits for "Godspell" and the female
version of "The Odd Couple," all with LCT, where she has also served as
board president. Having been on stage since age five, she and her twin
sister worked in television as teenagers in Kansas City, Mo. With a husband
in the Air Force, she's had the opportunity to perform nationwide, including
doing professional work in Tennessee and Alabama.
Now vice president of Blue Moon, "Proof" is her first stage work with the
company.
Taking the role of Catherine is Devon Ash. Robert is played by David Fennema. Claire is played by Jo Lepien. Matt Sigers takes the role of Hall.
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