David Auburn (1) (1969–)

This is a reread for me as I'm teaching the play next week. It's a short, stunning play (it won a Pulitzer) about math, madness, and family dynamics. Catherine, a brilliant mathmetician, gave up her hopes of a college education and a career to care for her mathmetician father, who had "gone bonkers." Now she wonders if she is going down the same path, and her sister Claire's oversolicitousness isn't helping. After her father's funeral, his former student finds an impossibly brilliant show more mathmatical proof in the professor's notebooks. The question is: who wrote it? The play is sad, witty, and, yes, hopeful, all in one. show less

A fascinating, layered look into the lives of a brilliant mathematician and his mathematically gifted daughter. Despite the heavy role math plays in the story, there is very little actual mathematics involved in this play. Instead, Auburn addresses larger concerns that could refer to any subject matter: lost potential and the question of when it becomes too late to make certain choices in one's life; family and the cost of caring for loved ones to the detriment of one's own interests and show more progress; the fine line between grief and madness; aging and all of its potential for destroying a person long for they die. A poignant, involving play where the characters are always intriguing and real, even when they are not particularly lovable. show less

Sometimes it is difficult to decide if the plays from the late 20th century are brilliant or just pretentious. These plays are in that category; perhaps seeing them staged would help settle the question better than reading them. The title play is the longest, and has the most plot. Centered around the science of astronomy, it makes an effort to get the science right; still, the character of the scientist is unbelievable and stereotyped, at least for someone who knows scientists, indicating show more that the author settled for the lazy way out rather than doing the work to get the audience to buy into the scientist, or that the author wishes to paint scientists as asocial loners with no friends. Other than the title play, the best plays in the work were Miss You, a phone play about relationships, and Are You Ready?, a series of monologues that examine the same moment in time from the point of view of three vastly different people. The ending is an amusing twist. show less

This has been one of my all-time favorite plays for a very long time. It may be because of the subject matter: mathematics and psychology. This is the story of a 25-year-old woman who is the daughter of a famous mathematician who went insane. She grapples with the question of her own sanity, her future, a new man in her life, and her prudent sister after her father's death. It brings up so many questions I've had for myself that it has always been easy for me to identify with it.

I saw this show more play produced very well and the movie, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Hopkins, and Jake Gyllenhaal, is also done particularly well (with a script written by the play's author and following the play closely with some very interesting changes due to the added flexibility of a film rather than a play). Auburn's poetic writing from the point-of-view of an insane genius is moving and magnificent. Catherine's character is wholly developed and realistic, being someone I could see being friends with.

If there is a production of this in your area, I encourage you to go! As a fine substitute, rent the movie. And above all, read Auburn's beautiful play! show less