Michelle Obama Highlights the Importance of Black Storytelling in PROOF

Higher Ground, the media company founded by President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, is currently serving as a co-producer of the ongoing Broadway revival of Proof. During a recent episode of Michelle Obama’s podcast, IMO, the former First Lady welcomed Proof stars Don Cheadle and Ayo Edebiri to discuss the production and her own involvement.

The group kicked off the episode with the origin story for the revival, led by Cheadle and Edebiri as a father and daughter. Though both have a background in theater, they are best known for their onscreen work, and this marks their Broadway debut. “I think you guys lending your talents to theater is helping because it’s going to put people in seats and reinvigorate things,” Obama told the guests. “At this point, I don’t care why people come to the theater- I just want them to come.” 

She went on to note that buzzy names can be effective in successfully establishing a production. “So if you can get somebody hooked, then you guys go off… You move somebody else in it and then people now know that this play on its own, without the star power, is something that we want to see.” They also spoke about the importance of theater accessibility and getting discounted or free tickets into the hands of audiences.

This production reimagines David Auburn’s award-winning play with a Black family. This was part of the appeal for Obama, who highlighted the importance of storytelling from the perspective of Black voices, saying that “this version of the play is exactly the kind of stuff that Barack and I want to be involved with: telling stories that are reimagined in ways that have an impact.”

She explained: “There are some people out there who don’t want to believe that they’re Black families that are professors and clinical psychiatrists and who are artists and who are geniuses. And I think it’s powerful to have this family, not talk about the truth of their reality, but just living in it. We exist in so many different forms with so many different challenges other than poverty or crime or whatever.” Check out the full episode of the podcast now.

Directed by Thomas Kail, Proof officially opened on April 16 at the Booth Theatre and runs through July 19th. The show also stars Jin Ha and Kara Young, who will depart the production on Sunday, June 28. Adrienne Warren will take over the role of ‘Claire’ on Tuesday, June 30th. Read the reviews for the show here.

In Proof, Catherine (Ayo Edebiri), the brilliant but restless daughter of renowned mathematics professor Robert (Don Cheadle), is thrust into turmoil when a notebook containing a revelatory Proof is discovered after his death. As debate erupts over its true authorship, Catherine must confront the power of legacy, and the cost of proving herself.