'Proof' staged in Bryan, 'Comedy' in Monroe

Denver Henderson, left, and Kim Semer in the Williams County Community Theater production of Proof in Bryan, Ohio.

Kim Semer said she was blown away by David Auburn's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, Proof when she read it about two years ago.

So when she got the chance to audition for a role in the production opening tomorrow in Bryan, she jumped in with no reservations.

The Bryan woman won the lead role of Catherine, a math prodigy whose personal life is in shambles. Having dropped out of college to care for her father, Robert, a brilliant mathematician whose mind snapped, Catherine fears that she has inherited her father's madness.

As she deals with her fears, Catherine also must deal with her elder sister, Claire, whose financial support has given her a right to have a say in how the family affairs are run, and Hal, a student of her father, who believes that the random scribblings in Robert's hundreds of notebooks hold the key to the next big math breakthrough.

Proof has been showing up a lot in regional theaters lately; Bowling Green State University presented a production just two weeks ago, and the Toledo Repertoire Theatre and Adrian's Croswell Opera have also offered versions within the last year or so.

Semer has an explanation for that.

"Community theater is going through a rough spot where it's trying to find audiences, especially for dramas," she said.

Proof is a drama that allows itself to be accessible, she said. The characters are beautifully written and even though the play is about brilliance and madness, it deals with subjects, such as family relationship, that touch just about everyone.

Directed by Karen Grieser, Proof also stars Gene Asher of Edgerton as Robert, Crystal Bowers of Montpelier as Claire, and Denver Henderson of Bryan as Hal.

Williams County Community Theater presents "Proof" in the Little Theater in Bryan, 208 West Butler St., Bryan. Performances will be 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 21. Tickets are $12 adults, $11 for seniors, and $7 for students. Information: 419-636-0593.

There's a big estate, an assemblage of people, a blizzard, and bodies turning up everywhere.

No, it's not Agatha Christie, it's The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, the latest production of the Monroe Community Players.

The show, which isn't a musical but is a comedy, opens tomorrow in Monroe County Community College's Meyer Theater.

SarahKate VanAuker directs John Bishop's farce, which pokes fun at show business and the "murder-in-our-midst" movie thrillers of the 1930s and 40s. Her cast includes Elizabeth Beaudrie, Patrick Bondy, Ion Hallahan, Mary Kurtz, Norb Nowalk, Juliann Jenkins, Valinda M. Jonas, Faith Lizyness, Joshua Warren, and Robert Yoman.

"The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940" is scheduled at 8 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday in the Meyer Theater of the La-Z-Boy Center at Monroe County Community College, 1555 South Raisinville Rd. Tickets are $15. Information: 734-384-4127 or 734-241-7900.

Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic musical, South Pacific, will be presented at Heidelberg College this weekend.

The play, set on a Pacific island during World War II, examines racism through the romances of nurse Nellie Forbush and the French planter Emile de Becque and Lt. Joe Cable and the Polynesian beauty Liat.

Victims of their own prejudices, Joe and Nellie reject the offers of love until circumstances change.

Leading the large cast in the student production are Casie Scott as Nellie, Jerry Mathern as Emile, John Weber as Joe, and Aly Sullivan as Liat.

"South Pacific" is scheduled at 8 p.m. today-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday in the Gundlach Theater, attached to Heidelberg College's Founders Hall, near the intersection of East Market and Perry streets in Tiffin. Tickets are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and students, and free to Heidelberg students with college ID. Information: 419-448-2304.

The improvisation students of University of Toledo visiting guest artist Tibor Varszegi will showcase their skills in a public workshop performance entitled Etudes.

Performances will be free, but donations will be accepted.

"Etudes" will be presented at 7:30 p.m. today and tomorrow in University Hall Room 5130G at the University of Toledo. Information: 419-530-2452.

Contact Nanciann Cherry at: ncherry@theblade.com

or 419-724-613