Ayo Edebiri and Don Cheadle on Why Proof's Broadway Revival Is "Worth the Wait"

Broadway’s first ever revival of David Auburn’s Tony and Pulitzer-winning play Proof is premiering this spring, reframing the play with a starry cast blending theater veterans and award-winning screen actors. Before the production begins performances at the Booth Theatre on March 31, Broadway.com Editor-in-Chief Paul Wontorek got the inside scoop on this historic revival.

“There have been a lot of productions around the world, so I didn't feel in a hurry to have it done again until the time was right, and the team was right,” shares Auburn. “I was happy to wait until the right people came along. [Director] Tommy Kail came along and he brought this incredible cast. So, it was worth the wait. I think this is the perfect group to be doing it.”

Golden Globe and Emmy winner Ayo Edebiri makes her Broadway debut as Catherine, and Oscar nominee Don Cheadle makes his Broadway debut as Robert. Jin Ha (Hamilton) will play Hal and as recently announced, two-time Tony winner Kara Young (Purpose, Purlie Victorious) will portray Claire. The play revolves around Catherine and the fallout that occurs when a mathematical proof is discovered after her father Robert’s death. The father-daughter dynamic, as well as the sibling dynamic between Catherine and her sister Claire, are explored by Auburn, who poses questions including: “What do you get from your parent? What do you owe to your parent? What are the things you have inherited from them that maybe you'd rather not have or would like to leave behind?”

Kail, best known for his work directing Hamilton, says these themes are what pulled him in the most about the play. “I'm in the middle of two sisters, and that's a dynamic that I find—whether it's Frozen, whether it's Wicked, whether it's Hamilton—there's a lot of energy around what it means to put a family on stage with honesty, and I think David did that in his play."

Cheadle, a father to daughters in real life, is balancing what that relationship means to him with finding the different meanings for his character during the rehearsal process. "I have to go, 'No, this is a different thing,' and 'How is this different? How is it the same? How does it reflect on my life?' And, 'How is it different in ways that I can push and challenge?'" Luckily, Cheadle feels "very paternal" toward Edebiri, sharing that “that was like day one.”

Edebiri, whose Broadway debut has been long awaited by fans, shared that her decision to be in Proof was part of a larger theatrical pursuit. "That's what I studied as a writer and what I really love," she says. "But it was really a matter of finding the right project and the right thing. Being in this ecosystem is really exciting."

So, what can audiences expect from this color-conscious revival? Ha shares that “it's revolutionary to be able to present our iteration of this story in our bodies and in our voices with the given understanding that we're supposed to be here. There's actually no question of, ‘Does this work? Does this not?’ That's not even the point. It's that, ‘Here we are,’ and then, ‘Here's a story we have to share with you.’ An amazing story that we get to share with you.”

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