I’ll leave that for you to decide. Let’s just say Backyard Renaissance never shies away from intriguing topics, and that their current presentation of the Auburn play (which runs through Dec. 9 at San Diego’s Tenth Avenue Arts Center) is a prime example.
Twenty-something mathematician Catherine has spent years in Chicago caring for her brilliant but unstable mathematician father Robert’s physical health, to give him time to pursue his brilliance.
But Robert has recently died, and now it’s up to Catherine (played wonderfully by Liliana Talwatte) to figure out how to treat his legacy with the respect it deserves, and what to do with the 103 notebooks he left behind. Talwatte is brilliant as the young keeper of the flame and guardian of the notebooks.
Robert’s former student Hal Dobbs (William Huffaker) offers Catherine help with the notebooks (in fact, he can hardly wait to get his hands on them). Will she release the notebooks to him? Oh, and there might be a burgeoning romance here as well.
Catherine’s sister Claire (played by Wendy Maples) shows up to suggest that Catherine move to New York and live with the rest of the family. This does not thrill Catherine, and she really doesn’t want to just leave the notebooks where they are. And it’s difficult for Catherine to get interested in things like jojoba hair conditioner, one of her sister’s major interests.
Ah life, so complicated, so confusing and perhaps also so promising.
This is a play like no other I’ve ever seen, but then Backyard Renaissance specializes in this sort of thing. Fear not, they (along with excellent director Anthony Methvin, along with the fine set and props of Yi-Chien Lee, lighting by Curtis Mueller, sound by Matt Lescault-Wood, costumes by Jessica John Gercke, and technical direction by Chad Ryan) do it justice and provide an evening’s thought-provoking entertainment and even amusement.
Bravi tutti.
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