Palmer group embraces uncut ‘Proof'

Play could open on March 24

December 11. 2005

CASEY RESSLER\Frontiersman Valley Life editor

If scheduling conflicts can be worked out, &#8220Proof,” a controversial play that was dropped from its March opening and relegated to the summer by Valley Performing Arts, will go on as originally scheduled - but not at VPA.

Director Dean Phipps said the rights have been secured to present the play starting March 24 and running for two weekends, but downtown Palmer will be the venue, behind the potential backing of the Palmer Arts Council (see related story, Page A9).

&#8220I'm prepared to do it at Vagabond Blues for no money. I just want to see the play get its due, when it was originally scheduled,” Phipps said. &#8220Grant [Olson, VPA's longtime artistic director] and I secured the rights to do it. It's not an ‘us versus them' thing. I just want to present it the way it was supposed to be presented.”

Currently, there are some scheduling conflicts with the Palmer Depot, Phipps said. If those conflicts can be worked out, the play would open March 24 at the depot.

The Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play by David Auburn, details the life of a girl who hopes to inherit her mathematician father's brilliance, but is afraid that she will also inherit his mental illness.

Controversy swirled around the Valley's theater group when it was discovered that vulgar language, including the &#8220f-word” appeared in the script numerous times.

The Valley Performing Arts board voted 8-1 to pull the play from its scheduled March opening and replace it with &#8220The Foreigner.” &#8220Proof” was then rescheduled for the summer, after the regular season.

The issue is addressed on the Dramatists Play Service's Web site. That company, which licenses the play, has a frequently asked questions section, and one of the questions is &#8220May we cut bad language.” The answer on the site is, &#8220No. Some authors don't mind toning down bad language and some even provide alternatives. But you must always ask for permission to make any changes.”

VPA Marketing Director Marty Metiva said VPA would still present &#8220Proof,” at the end of the season.

&#8220We weren't aware that they would be doing it at the same time, but hey, it's a free country,” Metiva said. &#8220It doesn't change our plans of presenting it as part of our lineup, at the end of the season. We heard rumors that they were thinking about it, though.”

Metiva said VPA doesn't usually have exclusive rights to a production, because the organization is considered a nonprofessional one, when it comes to securing rights.

&#8220Licenses are sometimes done on a per-show, or per-person, basis,” Metiva explained.

&#8220The prices vary a lot. For example, for ‘Oliver,' the license fee was around $4,500, because it was a popular show with a lot of name recognition. For ‘Everybody Loves Opal,' the fees were around $500, because it was a lesser-known play.”

Contact Casey Ressler at 352-2265 or casey.ressler@

frontiersman.com.