Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground to Co-Produce Broadway Revival of Proof
Ayo Edebiri and Don Cheadle make their Broadway debuts in David Auburn’s Tony Award-winning drama, directed by Thomas Kail
(Photo: Chip Somodevilla for Getty Images)
What to Know
- Higher Ground, founded by Barack and Michelle Obama, will co-produce the Broadway revival of David Auburn’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play Proof, marking the company’s expansion into live theater
- Ayo Edebiri and Don Cheadle will star in Proof, directed by Tony Award winner Thomas Kail and produced alongside Tony nominee Mike Bosner, with performances beginning March 31 at the Booth Theatre for a 16-week limited engagement
- The revival follows Catherine’s (Edibiri) struggle over the authorship of a groundbreaking mathematical proof, as Higher Ground—the Oscar, Emmy and Grammy-winning production company behind Leave the World Behind, Rustin and Crip Camp—adds Broadway to its multi-platform portfolio
Higher Ground, the media company founded by former president Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, will serve as a co-producer of the Broadway revival of David Auburn’s Proof, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play. They join Tony Award-nominated producer Mike Bosner (Cats: The Jellicle Ball, Shucked) and Tony Award-winning director/producer Thomas Kail (Hamilton).
Proof stars Emmy winner Ayo Edebiri and Golden Globe winner Don Cheadle, both making their Broadway debuts, and features Grammy Award nominee Jin Ha (Hamilton) and Emmy Award winner Samira Wiley (The Handmaid's Tale).
“To bring this landmark play back to Broadway with Ayo, Don, Tommy [Kail] and Mike at the helm is an extraordinary privilege, and we couldn’t be more proud to be part of this production,” the former president and first lady said in a statement Wednesday. “Proof is exactly the kind of story Higher Ground was built to champion, a play that asks profound questions about brilliance, doubt and what we inherit from the people we love most.”
Bosner and Kail said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Higher Ground as partners on Proof and to have their creative vision and passion behind this production. Their impeccable taste in storytelling and community-building makes them ideal collaborators for this revival.”
In Proof, Catherine (Edebiri), the brilliant but restless daughter of renowned mathematics professor Robert (Cheadle), is thrust into turmoil when a notebook containing a revelatory proof is discovered after his death. As debate erupts over its true authorship, Catherine must confront the power of legacy, and the cost of proving herself.
Proof will play the Booth Theatre with performances beginning March 31 for a 16-week strictly limited engagement.
Higher Ground’s expansion into theater marks the latest milestone for a company that has built an acclaimed multi-platform body of work across film, television and podcasting. The company has won an Academy Award, six Emmy Awards and two Grammy Awards. Their production credits include Leave the World Behind, Crip Camp, Rustin and American Symphony. Higher Ground has also created an independent podcasting network featuring IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson, Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso and Audible Originals including The Wonder of Stevie and Fela Kuti: Fear No Man.
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