Tony Award winner Adrienne Warren (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical) is set to join the cast of the Broadway revival of David Auburn’s Proof next month, stepping into the role of Claire following Kara Young’s departure, producers announced Wednesday.
Young will play her final performance on Sunday, June 28, as she exits the production due to a previously announced commitment to Lincoln Center Theater’s The Whoopi Monologues, a reimagining of Whoopi Goldberg’s 1984 solo Broadway piece adapted for an ensemble cast that includes Young and Kerry Washington. Previews for that production begin July 7.
Warren will officially join Proof on Tuesday, June 30 at The Booth Theatre, reuniting the ensemble that includes Ayo Edebiri, Don Cheadle, and Jin Ha, under the direction of Thomas Kail.
Warren brings significant stage pedigree to the role. She most recently appeared in the New York City Center Encores! production of Michael John LaChiusa’s The Wild Party, earning a Drama League Award nomination for Distinguished Performance. Last year, she starred opposite Nick Jonas in the Broadway revival of The Last Five Years as Cathy. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2021 for her acclaimed performance as Tina Turner in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. She is also set to appear in the upcoming indie film Shadow Dance.
Young originally joined Proof as a last-minute replacement for Samira Wiley (Orange Is the New Black), who withdrew before previews due to what was described as a “treatable medical condition.”
In Proof, Edebiri plays Catherine, the brilliant but emotionally unsettled daughter of famed mathematician Robert (Cheadle). After his death, a groundbreaking mathematical notebook is discovered, raising questions about authorship, legacy, and truth. Warren’s character, Claire, is Catherine’s older sister, who arrives from out of town and attempts to take control of their father’s funeral arrangements—further intensifying family tensions.
The production is currently running a strictly limited engagement at Broadway’s Booth Theatre through July 19.