{"id":111268,"date":"2026-10-09T14:13:54","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T14:13:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/?p=111268"},"modified":"2026-10-16T17:17:25","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T17:17:25","slug":"uri-theatres-proof-explores-family-grief-value-of-womens-voices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2026\/10\/uri-theatres-proof-explores-family-grief-value-of-womens-voices\/","title":{"rendered":"URI Theatre\u2019s \u2018Proof\u2019 explores family, grief, value of women\u2019s voices"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Oct. 9, 2026 \u2013 When Jimmy Calitri returned to University of Rhode Island Theatre Department <\/a>to direct David Auburn\u2019s Pulitzer Prize-winning play \u201cProof,\u201d he knew he was taking on a story with more than intellectual depth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Calitri, who first discovered his passion for directing as a URI undergraduate, the play\u2019s exploration into family, grief, caregiving, mental illness and gender equality offered an opportunity to create the kind of intimate, thought-provoking theater he values most. Unlike the large-scale musicals he often directs, \u201cProof\u201d is a four-character drama; one Calitri was eager to take on because of the depth of its material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis play will most importantly shed light on mental illness and our responsibility toward anyone with any such illness. It\u2019s about understanding dementia and the decision to be responsible for that person with it,\u201d Calitri said. \u201cAlso, this play is about how we process grief. The goal is for the audience and actors alike to identify with the characters and to either have it be therapeutic for them if they experienced similar situations or to understand it if they never previously experienced it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n