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Hot off a well-deserved wave of recognition for the musical juggernaut of Hamilton in 2015, director Tommy Kail returned to The Public Theater one year later to direct Dry Powder, playwright Sarah Burgess’ buzzy satire of high finance. The cast was star-packed: John Kransinski, Claire Danes, Hank Azaria. The high-intensity Wall Street setting offered rich potential. Yet the resulting production was sleek, flashy and utterly lifeless, an attempted comic-thriller that sputtered from scene one.
As if to drive the point home, Kail returned to The Public again in 2018 with Burgess’ follow-up Kings and delivered an even sleepier production, slack-paced and unexciting. Around the same time, Kail did do fine work with a Nia Vardalos-led and adapted Tiny Beautiful Things (despite much resistance, I was very moved). But the less said about his revival of Anna Christie at St. Ann’s Warehouse earlier this year, the better.
All of this to say: Thomas Kail is a very talented individual, and I’m not entirely convinced that Thomas Kail should be directing plays.
Certainly not on the evidence of Proof, another star-led production opening tonight at the Booth Theatre. David Auburn’s elegant and moving 2000 play, which earned both the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2001, is a gorgeous piece of writing. Pitched at full force, it can rip your heart out. But Kail’s spiritless revival fails to tap into the play’s specific collision of expansive ideas and fervid emotion.
Proof centers on Catherine (Ayo Edebiri), the young daughter of mathematical genius Robert (Don Cheadle). Robert has recently died following a long illness, and after two years as his caretaker, Catherine is exhausted.
Catherine is also, in the eyes of her sister Claire (Kara Young), growing mentally unstable—perhaps in a manner similar to their father. That Catherine spends the play’s first scene debating her dead father at length would seem to back up Claire’s concern. But the despondent Catherine does find some comfort with Hal (Jin Ha), a kind-hearted former student of her father's. That is, until the unclear origins of a mathematical proof discovered in the house set the two at odds.
Proof is a solidly-built kind of play, talky and reflective. Its sections of quiet melancholy do demand a quiet stillness, which is this production’s default mode. But at its best, Proof can also be an exhilarating ride. The open question of Catherine’s sanity should hover uncertainly, injecting tension into even the most quotidian conversations. Meanwhile the specter of a genius father, his legacy straining the bond of two distant but loving sisters, can provide a painful emotional core.
Hell, the New York Times described the original Broadway production of Proof as moving like a “psychological thriller.” Under Kail’s direction, it feels closer to “Lifetime Original.” This revival is frustratingly inert; the play’s layered, tricky confrontations glide by with little weight or significance.
Edebiri is a gifted comic actor, and does find a surprising sweetness in Catherine. Making her Broadway debut, Edebiri is at her strongest in lighter moments opposite Ha, particularly the pair’s endearing flirtations in the play’s first act. Edebiri and Ha have a comfortable chemistry, and Catherine and Hal’s deepening bond feels comfortable, and sweet.
But when Catherine needs to be hovering on the edge of breakdown, Edebiri feels lost. She ends up falling back on some unfortunate tics, chiefly a staccato line delivery and big, bulging eyes. It always feels forced, and the notion that secret genius lies underneath these eccentricities is never felt.
It is also not plausible, here, that Claire would view her sister as requiring hospitalization. Kara Young, a star, strains to make sense of Claire without a strong Catherine to bounce off of. Young is also suppressing her typical liveliness and verve for a more pent-up, internal character. She is somewhat miscast here, but it’s intriguing to see Young push herself in a different direction. Ultimately, one could never be bored watching her on stage.
Cheadle is obviously a formidable actor, and brings effortless presence. He finds an easy charm in Robert’s lucid moments. But Cheadle struggles with the play’s long monologues, which tend to fade into nothingness as he lets the words drift away from him, floating off when they should land forcefully.
A smart set by Theresa L. Williams does suggest intriguing ideas around order, inspiration and controlled chaos, ideas that never quite cohere in this disappointing revival of a great play.
Proof is now in performances at the Booth Theatre on West 45th Street in New York City. For tickets and more information, visit here.
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Today, the Boston Theater Critics Association have announced the nominees and five awards for visiting productions in the New England Area. The awards will take place Monday, June 1, 2026 at 7pm at the Huntington Theatre.
In addition to the nominees, the 2026 Elliot Norton Prize for Sustain Excellence goes to producer Bill Hanney for his work with the North Shore Music Theatre and Theatre By The Sea. Special Citations will be awarded to Commonwealth Shakespeare Company in honor of its 30th Anniversary Season, Blue Man Group for its 30-year residency in Boston, and to arts administrators Temple Gill and Jim Torres for their decades of service to the arts community.
The full list of nominees are below.
Visiting Awardees
Outstanding Visiting Play
“Our Class,” Arlekin
Outstanding Visiting Musical
“Suffs,” Broadway In Boston
Outstanding Performance in a Visiting Musical
Sam Tutty, “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York),” American Repertory Theater
Outstanding Performance in a Visiting Play
Chulpan Khamatova, “Our Class,” Arlekin
Outstanding Visiting Solo Performance
Eddie Izzard, “The Tragedy of Hamlet,” Boch Center
Nominations
Outstanding Play, Large
“Don’t Eat the Mangos,” The Huntington
“The Hills of California,” The Huntington in association with Berkeley Repertory Theatre
“Misery,” Merrimack Repertory Theatre
“We Had a World,” The Huntington
“What You Are Now,” Merrimack Repertory Theatre
Outstanding Play, Midsize
“The Garbologists,” Gloucester Stage
“The Glass Menagerie,” Gloucester Stage
“Jaja’s African Hair Braiding,” SpeakEasy Stage
“The Moderate,” a Catalyst Collaborative@MIT Production, presented by Central Square Theater
“Our Town,” Lyric Stage Boston
Outstanding Play, Small
“the beautiful land I seek (la linda tierra que busco yo),” Teatro Chelsea
“Is This a Room,” Apollinaire Theatre Company
“The Meeting Tree,” Company One Theatre in collaboration with Front Porch Arts Collective
“Mother Mary,” Boston Playwrights’ Theatre
“The Mountaintop,” Front Porch Arts Collective in collaboration with The Suffolk University Modern Theatre
Outstanding Musical
“Crowns,” Moonbox Productions
“Fun Home,” The Huntington
“The Light in the Piazza,” The Huntington
“Rent,” North Shore Music Theatre
“tick, tick…BOOM!,” The Umbrella Stage Company
Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play, Large
Will Conard, “We Had a World,” The Huntington
Nora Eschenheimer, “As You Like It,” Commonwealth Shakespeare Company
Karen MacDonald, “Misery,” Merrimack Repertory Theatre
Jessica Pimentel, “Don’t Eat the Mangos,” The Huntington
Allison Jean White, “The Hills of California,” The Huntington in association with Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play, Midsize
Thomika Marie Bridwell, “The Garbologists,” Gloucester Stage
Josephine Moshiri Elwood, “Job,” SpeakEasy Stage
Paul Melendy, “Featherbaby,” Greater Boston Stage Company
Paul Melendy, “The Garbologists,” Gloucester Stage
Nael Nacer, “The Moderate,” a Catalyst Collaborative@MIT Production, presented by Central Square Theater
Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play, Small
Adriana Alvarez, “Mother Mary,” Boston Playwrights’ Theatre
Dominic Carter, “The Mountaintop,” Front Porch Arts Collective in collaboration with The Suffolk University Modern Theatre
Tara Forseth, “Mother Mary,” Boston Playwrights’ Theatre
Parker Jennings, “Is This a Room,” Apollinaire Theatre Company
Nathaniel Justiniano, “the beautiful land I seek (la linda tierra que busco yo),” Teatro Chelsea
Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play, Large
Sonnie Brown, “What You Are Now,” Merrimack Repertory Theatre
Kate Fitzgerald, “The Hills of California,” The Huntington in association with Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Evelyn Howe, “Don’t Eat the Mangos,” The Huntington
Eva Kaminsky, “We Had a World,” The Huntington
Amy Resnick, “We Had a World,” The Huntington
Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play, Midsize
Liza Giangrande, “The Glass Menagerie,” Gloucester Stage
De’Lon Grant, “The Glass Menagerie,” Gloucester Stage
Josephine Moshiri Elwood, “Our Town,” Lyric Stage Boston
Patrick O’Konis, “The Glass Menagerie,” Gloucester Stage
Jules Talbot, “The Moderate,” a Catalyst Collaborative@MIT Production, presented by Central Square Theater
Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play, Small
Sehnaz Dirik, “A View from the Bridge,” Apollinaire Theatre Company
Nicholas Papayoanou, “You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World!,” Company One Theatre
Jacqui Parker, “The Meeting Tree,” Company One Theatre in collaboration with Front Porch Arts Collective
Kiera Prusmack, “The Mountaintop,” Front Porch Arts Collective in collaboration with The Suffolk University Modern Theatre
Adrian Roberts, “The Ceremony,” CHUANG Stage in partnership with Boston Playwrights’ Theatre and Boston University College of Fine Arts, School of Theatre
Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical
Sehnaz Dirik, “Blood Brothers,” Theater UnCorked
Liza Giangrande, “The Spitfire Grill,” The Umbrella Stage Company
Didi Romero, “Rent,” North Shore Music Theatre
Johnny Shea, “tick, tick…BOOM!,” The Umbrella Stage Company
Emily Skinner, “The Light in the Piazza,” The Huntington
Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical
Aaron Arnell Harrington, “Rent,” North Shore Music Theatre
Vanessa Calantropo, “tick, tick…BOOM!,” The Umbrella Stage Company
Joshua Grosso, “The Light in the Piazza,” The Huntington
Sarah-Anne Martinez, “The Light in the Piazza,” The Huntington
Lyla Randall, “Fun Home,” The Huntington
Outstanding Choreography
Rachel Bertone, “Evita,” Reagle Music Theatre
Briana Fallon, “The Wizard of Oz,” North Shore Music Theatre
Hallie Nowicki, “Sweeney Claus: The Demon Father of Sleet Street,” Gold Dust Orphans
Ilyse Robbins, “tick, tick…BOOM!,” The Umbrella Stage Company
Marcos Santana, “Rent,” North Shore Music Theatre
Outstanding Director, Large
Logan Ellis, “Fun Home,” The Huntington
Loretta Greco, “The Hills of California,” The Huntington in association with Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Loretta Greco, “The Light in the Piazza,” The Huntington
David Mendizábal, “Don’t Eat the Mangos,” The Huntington
Marcos Santana, “Rent,” North Shore Music Theatre
Outstanding Director, Midsize
Doug Lockwood, “The Glass Menagerie,” Gloucester Stage
Jared Mezzocchi, “The Moderate,” a Catalyst Collaborative@MIT Production, presented by Central Square Theater
Ilyse Robbins, “tick, tick…BOOM!,” The Umbrella Stage Company
Regine Vital, “Crowns,” Moonbox Productions
Summer L. Williams, “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding,” SpeakEasy Stage
Outstanding Director, Small
Danielle Fauteux Jacques, “Is This a Room,” Apollinaire Theatre Company
David R. Gammons, “A View from the Bridge,” Apollinaire Theatre Company
Maurice Emmanuel Parent, “The Mountaintop,” Front Porch Arts Collective in collaboration with The Suffolk University Modern Theatre
Armando Rivera, “the beautiful land I seek (la linda tierra que busco yo),” Teatro Chelsea
Elaine Vaan Hogue, “Mother Mary,” Boston Playwrights’ Theatre
Outstanding Scenic Design, Large
Andrew Boyce, “The Light in the Piazza,” The Huntington
Andrew Boyce and Se Hyun Oh, “The Hills of California,” The Huntington in association with Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Ryan M. Howell, “The Wizard of Oz,” North Shore Music Theatre
Tanya Orellana, “Don’t Eat the Mangos,” The Huntington
Tanya Orellana, “Fun Home,” The Huntington
Outstanding Scenic Design, Midsize or Small
Janie E. Howland, “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding,” SpeakEasy Stage
Ben Lieberson and Pamela Hersch, “The Mountaintop,” Front Porch Arts Collective in collaboration with The Suffolk University Modern Theatre
Jenna McFarland Lord, “The Glass Menagerie,” Gloucester Stage
Cristina Todesco, “The Meeting Tree,” Company One Theatre in collaboration with Front Porch Arts Collective
Sibyl Wickersheimer and Jared Mezzocchi, “The Moderate,” a Catalyst Collaborative@MIT Production, presented by Central Square Theater
Outstanding Lighting Design, Large
Christopher Akerlind, “The Light in the Piazza,” The Huntington
Bradley King, “Wonder,” American Repertory Theater
Jack Mehler, “The Wizard of Oz,” North Shore Music Theatre
Philip Rosenberg, “Fun Home,” The Huntington
Cha See, “Don’t Eat the Mangos,” The Huntington
Outstanding Lighting Design, Midsize or Small
Amanda Fallon, “The Glass Menagerie,” Gloucester Stage
Kevin Fulton, “The Moderate,” a Catalyst Collaborative@MIT Production, presented by Central Square Theater
Brian Lilienthal, “The Mountaintop,” Front Porch Arts Collective in collaboration with The Suffolk University Modern Theatre
Elmer Martinez, “Macbeth,” Actors’ Shakespeare Project
Eduardo M. Ramirez, “Silent Sky,” a Catalyst Collaborative@MIT Production, presented by Central Square Theater
Outstanding Costume Design, Large
Miranda Giurleo, “As You Like It,” Commonwealth Shakespeare Company
Rebecca Glick, “Rent,” North Shore Music Theatre
Alex Jaeger, “The Light in the Piazza,” The Huntington
Celeste Jennings, “Fun Home,” The Huntington
Jennifer von Mayrhauser, “The Hills of California,” The Huntington in association with Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Outstanding Costume Design, Midsize or Small
Seth Bodie, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Actors’ Shakespeare Project
Danielle Domingue Sumi, “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding,” SpeakEasy Stage
Chloe Moore, “The Ceremony,” CHUANG Stage in partnership with Boston Playwrights’ Theatre and Boston University College of Fine Arts, School of Theatre
E. Rosser, “Crowns,” Moonbox Productions
Nia Safarr Banks, “The Glass Menagerie,” Gloucester Stage
Outstanding Sound Design, Large
Alex Berg, “Rent,” North Shore Music Theatre
Megumi Katayama, “The Light in the Piazza,” The Huntington
David Remedios, “Misery,” Merrimack Repertory Theatre
Jake Rodriguez with Alexandra Buschman-Román and Jason Stamberger, “Don’t Eat the Mangos,” The Huntington
David Van Tieghem, “The Hills of California,” The Huntington in association with Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Outstanding Sound Design, Midsize or Small
Julian Crocamo, “The Garbologists,” Gloucester Stage
Aubrey Dube, “The Glass Menagerie,” Gloucester Stage
Christian Frederickson, “The Moderate,” a Catalyst Collaborative@MIT Production, presented by Central Square Theater
Joshua Jackson, “The Mountaintop,” Front Porch Arts Collective in collaboration with The Suffolk University Modern Theatre
Joseph Lark-Riley, “Is This a Room,” Apollinaire Theatre Company
Outstanding Solo Performance
Kevin Kling, “Kevin Kling: Unraveled,” Merrimack Repertory Theatre
Valyn Lyric Turner, “No Child…,” Gloucester Stage
Outstanding New Script
Sam Chanse, “What You Are Now,” Merrimack Repertory Theatre
B. Elle Borders, “The Meeting Tree,” Company One Theatre in collaboration with Front Porch Arts Collective
KJ Moran Velz, “Mother Mary,” Boston Playwrights’ Theatre
David Templeton, “Featherbaby,” Greater Boston Stage Company
Ken Urban, “The Moderate,” a Catalyst Collaborative@MIT Production, presented by Central Square Theater
Outstanding Ensemble
“Crowns,” Moonbox Productions
“Don’t Eat the Mangos,” The Huntington
“The Hills of California,” The Huntington in association with Berkeley Repertory Theatre
“Jaja’s African Hair Braiding,” SpeakEasy Stage
“The Light in the Piazza,” The Huntington
“The Meeting Tree,” Company One Theatre in collaboration with Front Porch Arts Collective
“The Moderate,” a Catalyst Collaborative@MIT Production, presented by Central Square Theater
“Our Town,” Lyric Stage Boston
“Rent,” North Shore Music Theatre
“Sweeney Claus: The Demon Father of Sleet Street,” Gold Dust Orphans
I’ve not seen the namesake documentary on which Lindsey Ferrentino’s play The Fear of 13 is based, but reviews of the 2015 film note its “intriguing mystery” (Time Out) and the “riveting” (The Times), “labyrinthine journey [...] about the art of storytelling” (The Guardian) it crafts in telling the tale of Nick Yarris, a Philadelphia native who spent 22 years on death row for a gruesome crime he did not commit. As directed by David Cromer in rare disjointed form, the production which opened at the James Earl Jones Theatre has none of that going for it, save for two game lead performances by Adrien Brody and Tessa Thompson, making their Broadway debuts.
Yarris’ biography is set for classic melodrama: He filled his youth with petty crimes before escalating to car-jacking and attacking a police officer while under the influence. When a woman turns up dead nearby, why shouldn’t a jury think the 20-year-old boy is crying innocent wolf? We, of course, know he’s innocent, though Ferrentino spends an inordinate amount of time letting him charm us through the direct audience addresses that take up most of the production’s two-hour runtime.
Brody is expectedly watchable and uber-committed, though the white-boy-swag vibe he loves to affect becomes grating in the wandering play, whose first 80 minutes or so are mostly just Yarris/Brody doing his thing while the plot assembles in the background. If that structure is meant to reflect destiny’s quietly uncaring machinations, the script is not nearly meaty enough to uphold it. Nick eventually falls for, and marries, Jacki (Thompson) a kind-hearted prison volunteer. It’s only when the two start to feel the weight of time on their relationship, in a skillfully rendered scene where his path to freedom locks into a regressive pattern through a series of procedural blunders, that the play finally takes on a painful immediacy and stance against the inefficiencies of our justice system.
If this sounds like a two-hander, it probably should have been. There’s a solid cast surrounding the leads, including Joel Marsh Garland as a prison guard – the only other fixed role in a production that fumbles the split between its featured performers (Michael Cavinder, Eddie Cooper, Victor Cruz, Jeb Kreager and Ephraim Sykes) and its ensemble (Eboni Flowers, Jared Wayne Gladly, Joe Joseph and Ben Thompson), all of whom play various parts, none very important.
It’s likely a matter of navigating contracts and understudies and, sure, Cooper gets more to do than Joseph, but Cromer assigns roles with a shocking dearth of strategy. There’s a flashback Sykes exits as one of Nick’s old friends before returning, some 45 seconds later, as his lawyer. Since his entrance is set up as bad news for Nick’s upcoming trial, a few audience members at the performance I attended laughed upon Sykes’ reemergence, thinking the lead’s crime buddy had made a sudden career pivot. Surely someone else could have taken that part. (Sykes is otherwise innocent, if largely wasted, and the couple of songs he performs seem a tacit acknowledgement, by Ferrentino or Cromer, that they don’t have much to work with.)
The Broadway production, which aside from Brody has enlisted an entirely different team from the play’s 2024 premiere in London, is nicely noirish. Arnulfo Maldonado’s unfussy prison set is evocative and effective, with somber brick walls flanking a back wall stacked with jail cells imposingly lit by Heather Gilbert. But this too makes the brief excursions, like a mid-show appearance of Jacki’s well-appointed home feel like an unnecessary attempt to keep things fresh.
Ferrentino, whose musical adaptation of the 2012 documentary The Queen of Versailles opened earlier this season, has a good eye for true stories ripe for dramatization, but again fails to land a consistent tone. Much of this, as in Versailles, is due to the multiplicity of voices she admits into her storytelling; a keystone of documentaries’ allowance of real people to say their piece, but a tactic that typically muddles dramatic coherence. It’s noble to grant Jacki the same chance to share her side with us – and it’s basically 70% of what the underutilized Thompson, who can channel deep currents of sympathy with a single tilt of the head, gets to do – but there’s nothing she adds that Nick couldn’t have handled himself. It is, after all, his life on the line.
The Fear of 13 is in performance through July 12, 2026 at the James Earl Jones Theatre on West 48th Street in New York City. For tickets and more information, visit here.
