At the El Portal Theatre, Hayden Begley delivers a precise, deeply authentic performance alongside her celebrated father, Ed Begley Jr
By John Lavitt
North Hollywood, CA (The Hollywood Times) 07-26-2026
Like the mathematical proofs at the center of David Auburn’s Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning drama, nothing in this play is easy. Every apparent certainty in Proof opens the door to another question. The emotions are immensely complicated, and the story offers tremendous insight into the razor’s edge between genius and madness. When pushed beyond that edge, inspiration can go tragically awry.
In Proof, presented by Jason Jeske at the El Portal Theatre, Ed Begley Jr was fantastic as Robert, the once-brilliant mathematician whose severe mental illness has derailed his genius. However, Hayden Begley carried the production as Catherine, Robert’s younger daughter and reluctant caretaker. Her performance was precise, restrained, and simmering with deep emotion.
Never overacting and always holding back, Hayden revealed Catherine gradually, in the rising dawn of utter authenticity. Her silences mattered as much as her words. A glance, a hesitation, or a sudden defensive turn exposed another layer of a young woman terrified she might have inherited both her father’s extraordinary gifts and his devastating instability.
Indeed, the title applies as much to Catherine’s identity as to mathematics. Can she prove that her work is hers? Can she prove that her mind remains sound? Most painfully, can she trust herself when everyone around her harbors doubts? Hayden made each question feel immediate and personal. In the process, she proved to be a revelation on stage.
As he has throughout his remarkable career, Ed Begley Jr delivered a performance that balanced comedy with heartbreak. His Robert could still be charming and funny, especially when flashes of his former intellectual confidence returned. Beneath that humor, however, you could see his frustration and a deep-seated realization that his genius had been forever altered by mental illness.
Even in his most disordered moments, Robert understands enough to fear that the same fate may await his daughter. Because Ed is Hayden’s father in real life, the interaction took on an added layer of power and meaning. The real-life bond between father and daughter deepened the moment, transforming Robert’s fear for Catherine into something immediate, instinctive, and profoundly personal.
That personal resonance was inseparable from Ed’s courage in taking the stage while living with Parkinson’s disease. Robert’s mental illness and Parkinson’s are profoundly different conditions, yet Proof portrays how a father’s illness can reshape family life—and how a daughter responds with vigilance, love, and an instinct to care for him. Those struggles echoed the Begleys’ own experiences.
Rather than retreat from the parallels, Ed and Hayden embraced them, transforming vulnerability into a shared act of artistic courage. By dedicating 100% of the proceeds from the entire run to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, they extended that courage far beyond the stage. They transformed a creative homecoming into a powerful statement of purpose, possibility, and hope.
As Claire, Robert’s older daughter, Kate Woods helped bring the play to life by sharply contrasting with Catherine. Her cosmopolitan New Yorker—she relishes the smell of freshly brewed coffee—is miles removed from her reclusive sister. Arriving for her father’s funeral like a tornado with an agenda, Claire believes that organization can solve everything.
Woods never shied away from Claire’s charismatic forcefulness or from her limitations. Claire loves Catherine, but her concern becomes controlling because she cannot grasp the life her sister has endured. By embodying that contradiction without softening it, Woods helped Hayden reveal additional dimensions of her brilliant portrayal.
Kelly Sry was perfectly cast as Harold, Robert’s former student—the math dork who longs to be cool and fumbles in the presence of genius. Harold’s eagerness is endearing until his doubts threaten Catherine’s fragile self-belief. Sry navigated that shift skillfully, allowing Harold to disappoint Catherine without turning him into a villain. Like all human beings, Harold has his limitations, and Proof offers an exemplary look at the complications that arise when those limitations intersect with love and creativity, fear and frustration.
Director Stuart Rogers approached the material with generosity and precision. Mental illness can become a landscape in which personality itself faces extinction. Samuel Beckett once wrote, “In the landscape of extinction, precision is next to godliness.” Rogers honored that principle by trusting the language, the actors, and the painful spaces between them.
Joel Daavid’s set design cleverly distinguished the play’s shifts in time through the deterioration of Robert’s house. What once was whole is no longer. The environment became a reflection of Robert’s mind and Catherine’s uncertain inheritance. The producers and supporting production staff did a great job in helping the production become fully realized.
Ultimately, Proof was both a theatrical achievement and a profoundly personal family collaboration. Most importantly, it became an extraordinary celebration of Hayden Begley’s emergence as a professional actress. Like her father and grandfather before her, she has the talent, discipline, and emotional intelligence to build a brilliant career. I look forward to seeing what she does next.
Here is a link to the 100K Proof for Parkinson’s Fundraiser for The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Please help the Begley family raise money to help fight this chronic brain disorder that affects so many.
