Emmy winner Ayo Edebiri (The Bear) and Academy award nominee Don Cheadle (Crash) will make their Broadway debuts next spring in the first-ever New York revival of David Auburn’s Tony- and Pulitzer-winning play Proof.
Directed by Tony winner Thomas Kail (Hamilton), and produced by Mike Bosner and Kail, Proof will play a strictly limited engagement at a Shubert theater to be announced, with preview performances beginning March 31, 2026, ahead of an April 16 opening night.
Proof tells the story of the daughter of a recently deceased mathematician who must fight to prove the authorship of a landmark proof that is discovered among her father's papers, while also dealing with her father's legacy of genius and mental illness.
Edebiri is an acclaimed actor, writer, producer, director, and comedian who has won an Emmy, SAG, and Golden Globe Award for her portrayal of Sydney in the hit television series The Bear. An honorary Irish woman, she has also been seen on screen in Inside Out 2, Bottoms, Theater Camp, Opus, Abbott Elementary, What We Do In The Shadows, and Big Mouth. Edebiri will appear on Broadway at the same time as her Bear costars Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who will act in Dog Day Afternoon also in spring 2026.
Cheadle has appeared in countless screen projects, including Boogie Nights, Hotel Rwanda, the Oceans trilogy, Crash, Miles Ahead, and throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe as James Rhodes (aka War Machine). Cheadle made his New York stage debut in the Public Theater’s 2001 production of Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog. Regionally and Off-Broadway, he has appeared on stage at the Guthrie, Shakespeare in the Park, and Chicago’s Goodman.
Proof premiered Off-Broadway at Manhattan Theatre Club in 2000, selling out its initial run before transferring to Broadway, where it won three Tony awards, including Best Play. Proof closed January 5, 2003, after 917 performances at the Walter Kerr Theatre, setting the venue record for a play. In 2001, Proof received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. In 2005, Proof was adapted into a feature film starring Anthony Hopkins and Gwyneth Paltrow.
The creative team will include Oscar-winning composer Kris Bowers, scenic designer Teresa L. Williams, Tony-winning costume designer Dede Ayite, and lighting designer Amanda Zieve. Casting is by Daniel Swee. Baseline Theatrical serves as general manager for the production.
Additional casting and further members of the design team will be announced in the coming weeks.
To sign up for more information about Proof, including ticketing details, visit ProofBroadway.com.
Look back at the original Broadway production of Proof below
