Women In Theatre’s home is perhaps not what you would expect of a community theater.
The chairs are not lined up in neat rows.
The stage is not smack in front of you.
The space is comfortable and inviting, more like you’re dining out. Conversational comes to mind.
“She wanted to create something that was not like any of the other community theaters,” Cass Foster said of his wife, Nell Foster. “She wanted to create something more intimate.”
Tonight at 7, WIT officially opens its new season at its home of one year, WIT’s End Theatre at Kukui Grove Center. “Proof” stars Erin Gaines in the lead as Catherine, Andrew Rice as Robert, Andrew Wolenter as Hal, and Taylor Howell as Claire. The cast promises to deliver a show that will pull in the audience and take them on an emotional ride.
“You’re vicariously participating in these relationships with these people,” Rice said. “A lot of times there’s one character you’re rooting for. In this play, you’re actually rooting for all four of them, even Claire, the bossy older sister. You love her and you understand where her heart is.”
Those relationships have “real challenges and real emotions and real conflict from life,” he said. “You get sucked in and you root for these people ‘cause you end up loving them all.”
“Proof,” winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for best play, is described as “a compelling, witty and well-structured story of a gifted young woman coping with the mental illness of her brilliant mathematician father.”
WIT’s season opener is directed by Professor Emeritus Cass Foster with lights designed by Chris (“Angus”) Sweitzer and the set designed by Nell Foster.
Cass Foster said he wanted to open the season with something special, and “Proof” is just that.
The writing, he said, is “absolutely brilliant,” as it deals with serious mental-health issues. But it leaves its audience well-satisfied as they connect with the characters.
“We’re hopeful they will walk away with a smile,” Cass Foster said. “I think we’re left feeling optimistic.”
The Fosters want their audience to feel right at home at WIT’s End, so the seating is four chairs to each table spaced around the stage. Snacks, popcorn and drinks will be available, so it’s kind of like a night out. Sit down, eat, drink, relax, enjoy. It’s even air-conditioned.
“We’re calling ourselves a ‘boutique theater,’” Nell Foster said. “Come with two more friends or meet two new ones.”
Early response was what they hoped for.
“The people walk in that door, they look around, (say) ‘this is amazing,’” Cass Foster said.
Women In Theatre has been around around nearly 20 years, but this is its first time announcing a season.
Shows still to come include “4, 3, 2 Gun,” May 16 to June 2; “Kauai Shorts,” Aug. 8 to 25; “A Tuna Christmas,” Oct. 10 to 25, and “Christmas from Home — 1941,” Nov. 28 to Dec. 15.
They used to have one, maybe two shows a year.
“Now five,” Nell Foster said. “That was a big step for us, to make that commitment.”
The cast of “Proof” is ready to deliver on that commitment to quality.
Andrew Rice plays Robert, the brilliant mathematician whose later years are clouded by insanity.
He saw the 2005 movie version starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Jake Gyllenhall, Hope Davis and Anthony Hopkins, so when he heard Cass Foster was directing a local production, he wanted in.
“He’s an excellent director and he chooses really good material,” Rice said.
It’s been challenging.
“We’ve all had to do a a lot of hard work on it,” he said. “He works us all a lot but he’s very affirming. It’s hard work, but it’s very rewarding.”
With a cast of four for the 90-minute play, it demands camaraderie. There is more opportunity to interact on a deeper level, and that comes across to the audience.
“Relationships are what makes this play,” Rice said.
“You have to get along, no matter what,” Howell said.
“And you’ve got to have each other’s back,” added Gaines, who is on stage nearly the entire time. “Because when somebody else is on stage, them looking good makes you look good.”
Gaines referred to “Proof” as a “very conversational play.”
“Proof” was written by David Auburn.
“He writes conversation so naturally,” Gaines said.
There are twists and turns that keep the audience engaged.
“You get very involved in it,” she said. “You get psychologically sucked into it, which is really cool.”
Gaines said this is her first in-depth role in a straight play. Her other leads have often been musicals, like “Mary Poppins.”
“So diving into a straight play is so exciting and so different,” she said. “I really wanted to dive into something meaty, different than what I’ve done.”
In “Proof,” every character has something to prove to the other characters in the play about who they are as a person.
“I think everyone can relate to a character in this show because they’re so real,” Howell said.
She pointed out there are different relationships — father/daughter, siblings, romantic.
“All those nuances that go into those relationships and they’re just right there in front of you. They’re not dumbed-downed or dulled in any way. They are what they are,” Howell said.
It’s a play, Howell added, that allows the actors to explore who their characters are.
“We all have moments where we really could all be crazy, but we really don’t know. Or we could just all be OK,” she said.
Wolenter plays Hal, a Ph.D. candidate who looks up to Robert as his mentor and adviser. He also develops a romantic relationship with Catherine. He is very much put in the middle of things and struggles to balance his logical side, his mathematician side and his heart.
This is Wolenter’s first leading role in local theater on Kauai.
“It’s been great, a lot of fun,” he said.
While “Proof” sounds super serious, you won’t walk away sad, Gaines said. The audience is very much involved in this relatable, believable, entertaining drama.
“It’s an experience while you’re here,” she said.
Nell Foster referred to it as “an evening immersed in the lives of a family. It’s just very, very compelling.”
Howell said “Proof” should prompt people to reflect on their own relationships. It will leave you better than when you arrived.
“It’s like a warm feeling. It feels like home,” she said. “It’s like getting a big hug.”
“If you miss your family, definitely come watch this show,” Gaines added.
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Bill Buley, editor-in-chief, can be reached at 245-0457 or bbuley@thegardenisland.com.
